The Green Eyed Spectre
by greggsmk
Summary: What happens when you give a man who can bend reality to his will the license to do so whenever he wants? Harry Potter, internationally renowned wizard, left Earth to fight for the Alliance under the codename Shepard during the First Contact War. Now, when Alliance leaders are looking for the best Spectre candidate possible, an old dossier comes to mind…HP/LL, not HP/MEgirl pairing
1. Chapter 1: Eden Prime

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Mass Effect nor their affiliated bits and pieces are my property. The lucky people who do own them are J.K. Rowling and both Bioware and EA, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.

Author's Note: Figured I ought to clear this up, as there might be some confusion: Harry is Shepard. Harry Potter is his name, Shepard is a code name that he uses when dealing with the Alliance and galactic community. Scenes from his perspective will be referring to him as Harry, but everyone (until later on) will be referring to him as Shepard.

* * *

The Green Eyed Spectre

Chapter 1: Eden Prime

* * *

**Arcturus Station**

In a shielded conference room, three men sat around a table strewn with datapads and coffee. These three men, Admiral Hackett, Captain Anderson, and Ambassador Udina had just spent the entire day going through literally hundreds of potential candidates for the Spectres. They'd hoped to find one amongst the list of those flagged by the Alliance and various active Spectres who would prove to be a viable representative for humanity. That the final decision came down to them was little surprise; that the three had managed to free an entire day in their busy and conflicting schedules to confer was a miracle. And still it was a futile hope, not one of the candidates possessed all the traits they wanted. They were all good, hell, they were some of the best with almost two thirds of the list comprised of N7, N6 and N5 marines, but no one stood far ahead of the pack and the Normandy was set to begin her shakedown run in two weeks.

Udina rested on his elbows, tiredness sapping his usual propriety, "Hackett, what about Sarah Ke-"

"I've already looked at her. Great marine, but a decent leader through training, not a natural," Hackett gestured at the datapad and recited from memory, "Nearly spotless record: two Silver Stars, four tours, two of which were with the sixth fleet, two with the 103rd Division. N6 designation, particularly noted for her skills as an infiltrator and with long range weaponry. She's been noted for being somewhat rash when taking positions for long range support, and she has limited experience commanding. She might be good enough with more tempering and experience, but that'll take a few more years."

Sighing, Udina looked down at his omni-tool, "We'll be here all night. I'd better cancel my seven o'clock."

Anderson, sitting at the end of the table, had been searching through various low-possibility candidates, and spoke up, "Here's one: Jonathan Keyes, exemplary marks and record. Career marine, N5, holds a Distinguished Service Cross for duty on Shanxi. In particular, he's been flagged for his grasp of ship-to-ship combat; unusual in a marine but potentially useful in a Spectre. The only issue is his age; as you might have guessed, he joined up during the First Contact War. Still, he's incredibly experienced and- what?" Hackett had frozen, staring off into the distance, and Udina turned to catch his gaze.

Giving a start, the old admiral cocked his head and a grin split his craggy features, "Well, we could reactivate Project Shepard."

Udina blinked. Nonsense, Shepard would be an old man by now, "Hackett, what are you talking about? If he was in his prime, certainly, but Shepard would be in the same boat as this Keyes man."

Hackett shook his head to himself, and Anderson had put the datapad down, his curiosity clearly piqued, "Project Shepard?"

"Anderson, you never needed to know, and Udina, you were never fully read into Shepard's capabilities to maintain deniability. Alright, background. Udina, you know this. Anderson, you would have been told this once you'd risen a few ranks, but the more I think about it, the more I like this idea, and you'll need to know. For the record, all subsequent details are classified above top secret, you both know the drill."

Hackett sat forward, placing his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers, "Fact: magic is real. Men and women who wield it are referred to as witches and wizards. Practically all those mythical animals you may have read about, dragons included, real. There is an entire society of magic-wielders living hidden and separate from the non-magical world on Earth. They split off around 1700 from the rest of the world and have maintained their secrecy. National leaders are kept informed of the presence and happenings of those living in their borders, but the awareness in the non-magical world doesn't extend past them and non-magical family members. That changed during the First Contact War."

Hackett dropped his hands and brought up is omni-tool. Bringing up a file, he sent it into the display on the conference room's reader and a dossier appeared. It featured a young man in his early thirties with messy black hair, glasses, and startling green eyes. He was garbed in what looked at first glance to be a leather duster, but upon closer examination was a set of robes, under which he wore an armor-plated hardsuit. Data popped up beside him and began scrolling slowly. Hackett continued, "Once it was confirmed that humanity had made hostile contact with an alien race, our leaders were approached by this man, Harry James Potter of Britain. Apparently, he wished to offer his services in defense of humanity and the Alliance, and had bypassed the magical world's leadership to do so. Questioning of Britain's Minister of Magic revealed that he was in fact an internationally known fighter and wizard. We received more information and in the end, his offer was accepted. To maintain secrecy and to protect him, he was codenamed Shepard; a name of his own choosing."

Hackett gave Udina a glance, pausing for a moment, "Udina, the following information was not made available to you. Shepard was asked to explain how he could be such a figure given his age, and it was revealed that witches and wizards typically age slower than the average human. As I understand it, the average magic-user can now live to be approximately one hundred and seventy, and exceptionally fit and powerful individuals can live to be over two hundred. Shepard appeared to be in his early thirties during the war, even though he was born in 1980."

_What?_

Udina choked on his coffee and came up spluttering. Anderson looked overwhelmed, and Udina composed himself, remembering when he had first been read in on the issue. Yes, it would be overwhelming. Recovered, his propriety maintained, he spoke up, "Hackett, are you telling me Shepard was already over one hundred and seventy when he fought?"

Hackett nodded, "Exactly, which is why I'm confident that if asked, he'd in all likelihood still be in his prime even now. There's more, however: just as there are normal magical citizens going about their business, there are also magical terrorists and the like desiring to overthrow the government and establish their own rule. Unlike non-magical people however, the difference between the average magical criminal and what they term a dark lord- yes, I know, Anderson. Don't laugh. So, instead of a normal terrorist destroying a building, a dark lord is closer to the idea of a walking nuclear warhead. One of the worst recorded rose backing Hitler and was partially responsible for instigating the Holocaust, to put things in perspective."

Hackett sat back and manipulated his omni-tool and the screen displaying Harry's information was replaced with a timeline of events. "Simply put, Shepard was responsible for the death of one of the worst dark lords of his time when he was in his teens. After that, he became the effective global benchmark for aspiring dark lords to defeat, and managed to successfully prevent a reported twelve potential international threats across Earth."

"You can read the details for yourself, but his actions during the First Contact War personally saved hundreds of our soldiers. Of particular note, he was immediately deployed to Shanxi, and was present during the siege. If not for his actions, Shanxi would have either fallen, or Williams would have been forced to surrender before the relief fleet came through. After peace was brokered, he underwent military training at our behest and then served for a time before retiring, remaining an as-needed consultant. At the time of his retirement, he was classified N7, and held the rank of Staff Commander."

"More recently, he was involved in several Alliance activities. He was living on Elysium when the blitz happened. It may have been credited to the garrison, but he's the reason Elysium is still standing. After that, he became an active consultant for a few years. We suspected the Akuze recon mission was a trap and Shepard was attached in order to provide support. He's the only reason more than a third of them survived. Once we'd found the majority of the slaver forces that instigated the blitz hiding on Torfan, he requested that he be present for the assault. Given his abilities and obvious emotional ties, he was allowed to join, but not command. Suffice it to say that by the end of the mission he had the largest body count. After that, he said he'd no longer consult and retired to Eden Prime."

Hackett, finally finished, simply closed his omni-tool and waited for their reactions. Udina was the first, given his familiarity, "Well, we certainly cannot question his courage. It's certainly an interesting option, but what makes you think he'd accept? If he is no longer military, he cannot simply be ordered to do so."

"A guess. I've worked with him several times and gotten to know him. He suffers from an extreme case of heroism, calls it his saving-people-thing. I can make the offer, and I'm confident he'd accept."

"But is this the sort of man we want representing humanity?"

"He's not as publically recognized as some of the others, I grant you that. Moreover, I'd be willing to bet he doesn't like politicians all that much, sorry Udina. That said, if you need a person to accomplish impossible missions, this is the one you want."

For the first time, Anderson looked up from the data scrolling across his omni-tool and spoke, "From what he sounds like, this is the only sort of person who _can_ represent humanity. He's practically lived through our race's entire spaceflight era."

Hackett nodded and spoke, "If we are in agreement?" At the others' nods he continued, "Then I'll make the-" Cutting himself off, he looked down at his blinking omni-tool. Opening the incoming vid, he spoke up, "Hackett here, what is it?"

"We have a situation on Eden Prime, sir. Forwarding all relevant data to your omni-tool."

Briefly glancing down, Hackett turned to the two other men in the room, "It appears fate is keeping an eye on us. Anderson, it looks like the Normandy's going to be getting her shakedown run a little early. A dig team on Eden Prime just unearthed a Prothean Beacon. Gather your crew and Nihlus, head there immediately. Recover it and pick up Shepard as well. I'll send him a message to let him know you're coming. Inform Nihlus of our choice, grant him non-classified information. _When_ he asks, Shepard is an old super-soldier project of ours from before we joined the galactic community. His abilities are naturally occurring advanced biotics, and no, we still don't know how they came to be. Nothing more than that."

* * *

**On Approach to Eden Prime**

Nihlus was in the comm room when Anderson entered. The Normandy was running smoothly for her first flight. Joker had made the run from Arcturus to Eden Prime in record time, nothing less than outstanding by the Spectre's standards, even if his attitude needed a complete readjustment. Nodding to the Captain, he spoke up, "I've been reviewing the dossier you sent me. It's…impressive, though I have to wonder how much of it is true."

"All of it, of course. Bear in mind that the Alliance didn't cease genetic experimentation until we joined the Council. The basic implants given to all our soldiers, medigel, even Shepard were all fruits from that research."

"I'm not discounting their effectiveness, Captain, far from it. But we've both seen enough battle to know just how ludicrous some of this sounds. Still, I'm willing to tentatively approve based on his experience and psychological profile, but of course I want to meet h-"

"Incoming transmission from Eden Prime, sir! You'll want to see this." The screen at the back of the room lit up, and both soldiers turned their attention upon it.

The first thing the two saw was a squad of soldiers taking fire. They were fighting back, against what the vid wouldn't or couldn't show. As it rose up, a Gunnery Chief raced over, shouting for them to get down before rising and firing at an enemy only she could see. All of a sudden, the fighting stopped, and shock and fear began to appear on the soldiers faces. The vid panned around as a deafening and low sound echoed out. Finally, it panned once more and the two soldiers caught a glimpse of something big and purple, before the camera man continued looking around. The fighting started up again, but in moments, the vid ended, and Joker's voice came once more over the ship's comm, "It cuts out after that, just goes silen-"

"Reverse and hold at 38.5."

The video quickly rewound and paused with the purple ship on screen. Anderson didn't recognize it at all, and from the nervous flexing of Nihlus' mandibles, neither did he.

"Status report!"

"Seventeen minutes out Captain, no other Allian- wait, another transmission coming over secure channel. It's breaking up, I'll try to keep it clean."

The image was fuzzy and filled with static, but the occasional break occurred showing the subject of their brief conversation. Hackett had been right, Shepard didn't look a day over thirty.

"ormandy…at you? Thi…hepard…ere the hell…ou!"

"Sixteen minutes out, Shepard. What's the situation on the ground?"

"colon…der attack…me kind…_lac__ialem__Spe_… purple robots…..shlight heads…pike turni…olonists…techno zombi…ssive…touched dow…ceport…_sempra!_ I'm headi….ere now. Wha…my orders?"

Nihlus looked up in alarm, "Purple robots? The geth? They haven't been seen outside the veil in centuries."

"The spaceport? Negative, Shepard. I need you to get to the beacon and secure it. Ground teams will meet you there."

"…at about…lonists!"

"The beacon is our top priority, helping the colonist is a secondary objective!"

"…espectfu….crew that! I'll mee- _Bombarda!_ I'll meet…our team a….ig site, but the coloni…y primary objective!"

"Shepard we have to keep that beacon out of their hands!"

"…oger, that…ill hav…ords about you- _Vincules Fulmen!_ your ord…hen we meet! What's th…round team's comm fre…ency?"

"Two teams, forwarding comm frequencies now. Nihlus is a Council Spectre, and the Normandy's ground team will be led by Lieutenant Alenko.

* * *

**Eden Prime**

It figured that Harry could only go a few years before something insane happened. He'd been out in the galaxy since first contact, and in that time he'd realized that there wasn't anything special or new about living out there, it was just life going on.

Until today, of course. The universe seemed to be laughing as it tossed robots, zombies, _and_ giant squid-shaped starships at him all on the same day.

What had followed was a harrowing flight from the outskirts of the colony where Harry lived and onward towards the dig site, near one of the cargo trains that ran to the spaceport. When he arrived, however, the scientists lay dead on the ground, or mounted high in the air on those purple spikes. Worse yet, Harry couldn't do anything to remove them from their mounts. If the person was pulled off the spike before it had completed its grisly work, the purple rod did _something_, and the colonist attached just melted into grey sludge.

He'd learned better than to even try after the second one.

In truth, the zombies had been far more troublesome than the robots. Putting those thoughts to the back of his mind, he refocused on the dig site. There were several of the robots examining the empty ground, six of the human-sized one and a larger one overseeing. Dropping behind one of the scattered rocks, Harry breathed in and aimed his wand at the rocky outcropping opposite him, transfiguring the stone wall into a house elf version of Mount Rushmore to draw their attention. Dobby would be so proud.

The robots reacted immediately, most taking cover, while two of the smaller ones left it and attempted to flank and investigate the unusual formation. It was fortunate, in a sense, that the issue of magic and technology interacting had never been solved. His deadlier spells were all still quite effective and occasionally necessary against the zombies, but even the most basic and fundamental spells in his repertoire could put the robots out of the fight for a while. Quickly apparating behind their lines and to the rocky edge of the basin containing the Prothean dig site, Harry twirled his wand and fired a pair of nonverbal blasting curses that took out three of the smaller ones now on the wrong side of cover.

The rest quickly spun, seeking him out, and Harry took the moment's distraction to raise a solid shield. The large one was preparing to advance, so Harry began focusing and visualizing before transfiguring the larger one into a toaster. He may not ever trust the toast that came out of that particular appliance, but there was no doubt it was out of the fight. The moment passed, and the remaining troopers aimed at him and began firing even as he transferred control of the shield between hands so he could take a breath. His inanimate transfiguration was decent, but he still had to brute force his way through it if he didn't want to take the time he normally needed.

James Potter may have been a natural at transfiguration, but his son's talents lay in a bit more explosive branch of magic. With his left hand just maintaining control of the shield, he raised his wand and twisted it once before bringing it down in a vicious slash.

"_Cadens Fulgures!_"

The bolt that descended from the sky was loud and crackling, impacting one of the robots and tearing it asunder. The two left were shocked but not terribly damaged, and a pair of _Zagens_ quickly ended the threat they posed. Not lowering the shield, Harry scanned the area, making sure that was the last before he descended into the basin.

Seeing the empty Prothean structure and the signs of heavy equipment, Harry guessed that the beacon must have been moved somewhere. Quickly, he opened a channel to the Normandy's ground teams, praying that his communicator would survive his magic until the end of the mission.

"Nihlus, Alenko, we've got a problem. The beacon's been moved, probably towards the spaceport and that giant ship.

"Understood, I'm bypassing the dig site and moving towards cargo transit station, I'll rendezvous with you there. Nihlus out."

"Our team is moving past the scientists' camp; two survivors, and we've picked up a stray marine. We'll be at the transit station in six minutes. Alenko out."

Harry sighed to himself, and began trekking towards the cargo terminal. Not wanting to waste magic if he could help it, he quickly crested the ridge and took in the sight before him. Several of the robots were around, moving the spikes, and in the distance, he could see the squidship in the direction of the spaceport. The closer he got to that thing, the more foreboding it seemed. At once familiar and malevolent. Tapping his head with his wand, the sensation of an egg cracking over it quickly came as he disillusioned himself and moved towards the terminal.

It proved for naught, however, as the robots soon saw him and began taking cover and firing. One of the rounds grazed his shoulder before he apparated into cover. Poking his head out, he identified the three and quickly launched a nonverbal _Ictus_ at the nearest one before apparating once more to the top of the modular structure. The piercing curse did its job well, impaling the robot's flashlight head and taking it out of the fight. As the remaining two retreated into cover and began scanning for him, Harry readied his magic. They were close together, and moving even closer to cover each others' backs. Almost there…

As soon as they were back to back, Harry incanted, "_Métal, rouille et briser!_"

The sphere of translucent brown magic appeared around them, and the two robots began rusting away into nothingness. Moments later, all that remained were nonmetallic parts littering the ground, and Harry apparated to the platform, taking cover and scanning the area.

As a Turian walked onto the platform from around the bend near the trains, Harry quickly disillusioned himself once more, and conjured a wall of air that spun around him, masking his heat. Settling in, he waited to see who it was and toggled his comm. "Nihlus, I've got a turian at the cargo terminal, is that you?"

"Not there yet, what do they look like?"

"Grey, no facial tattoos, prosthetic left arm, and a head covering."

"Could it be…hold there, I'm going to see if it is who I think, cover my back and provide support if needed."

Harry watched from cover as another turian appeared from the hillside, racing down from cover to cover. This one was black with white markings, wearing black and red armor. This must be Nihlus, and Harry watched as he sat in cover near the platform for a moment before leaping out and training his rifle on the mystery turian. With his comm open, Harry listened in.

"Saren?! What are you doing here?"

The mystery turian, this Saren, turned and put on clawed hand on Nihlus' shoulder, speaking up, "The Council though you could use a hand on this one."

Nihlus seemed to relax, looking around at the ruined robots around them, "I didn't expect the geth to be here, the situation's bad…"

Saren, behind Nihlus now, silently pulled his pistol out, "Don't worry, I've got it under control," and trained it on Nihlus' head. Harry leaped out of cover, tossing a nonverbal _Zagen_ at the only angle he could. The saw flew forth, severing Saren's prosthetic arm and knocking him aside. Nihlus spun, taking in the pistol before looking for an adversary, and Harry quickly shouted,

"Nihlus! Saren's the threat!"

The black turian spun once more as Saren quickly sprinted towards the cargo train. Harry was about to paralyze him when more of the geth ran out from behind the corner, letting Saren run past them as they opened fire. Nihlus dropped into cover and Harry apparated beside him, taking down the disillusionment as he did so. The turian instantly targeted Harry, but then turned his rifle back towards the geth and began firing. Harry spoke quickly, "Keep their attention and cover me, this'll take a moment!"

With that, Harry began focusing his magic into his wand and started performing the necessary wand movements. Looking out, he took in the eight geth slowly advancing, and in a moment, finished the spell and incanted, "_Lancea de Scelesto Terrem!_"

The ground beneath the platform suddenly jutted upwards in vicious spires, piercing the metal floor and then the geth themselves. Only two remained, and in their confusion, Nihlus quickly overwhelmed their shields and took them out of the fight. With the battlefield clear, he turned to Harry, "Shepard, how did you…never mind. Later. We've got to stop Saren before he gets to that beacon."

"So you _do_ know him."

At the sound of another fire team approaching, the two dropped into cover, but relaxed as they saw the three humans cresting the hilltop. Taking a moment to wait, Nihlus toggled his comm, "Alenko, we're on the platform, join us, fast!" Facing Harry, he spoke once more, "Yes, Saren was my Spectre mentor. If he's allied with the geth…Spirits! What the hell is he thinking!"

The three humans joined them, and Nihlus quickly barked orders, "We head for the spaceport. The geth are being assisted by a rogue Spectre, be on your guard."

The girl marine, however, raised her rifle up and targeted Nihlus before speaking, her voice at once angry and sad, "And how do we know you're not with him? Your _friend_ just wiped out my whole platoon!"

Alenko's biotics lit up, and he knocked her rifle upwards, shouting, "Williams! Nihlus is an ally! We'll sort out blame later, right now the mission comes first!"

Williams shrank in on herself a bit, and just quietly responded, "Yes, sir."

The squad in order once more, the five of them made their way towards the cargo train. There were more geth waiting to stall them on the train itself, but between the squad's fire and Harry's spellwork, they didn't last long. As they activated the train and settled in, Williams finally got a good look at the squad's strangest member and blanched.

"Mr. Shepard!? What the hell are you doing here? And what the hell was that?"

Harry just smiled at the marine. He hadn't recognized her until she spoke, but now it was patently clear. Ashley Williams was the granddaughter of John Williams, Harry's commander back on Shanxi. He knew she'd been stationed here, thanks to staying in touch with her grandfather, but they hadn't ever fully met. All she knew was that he was the strange man living on the outskirts of the colony who occasionally came into town for supplies. Smiling broadly, Harry spoke up, "I suppose I never properly introduced myself Ashley. Staff Commander Harry Shepard at your service. I served with your granddad on Shanxi. He always did like bragging about his sweet little warrior poet."

The train kept speeding on, but Harry could see the young Williams recoil and blush in confusion and embarrassment. Ah, it was always fun getting a rise out of the kids. As she recovered and began to speak he cut her off, "Answers come later, missions come first."

Ashley just responded on reflex, "Yes, sir!"

* * *

As the cargo train slowed down and finally came to a stop, the squad rapidly vacated it. With the platforms above them and only one path up, the train had become a deathtrap, one they didn't want any part of. It was for naught, however, as both Harry and Alenko quickly took in the cylinders blinking on the ground.

The biotic swore and dashed over to it, "Demolition charges! Jenkins, Williams, cover me while I disarm it! Spectre, Commander, there are probably more up top!" Nihlus nodded and sprinted for the stairs, Harry hard on his spurs. Of course, that was when the geth chose to spring their ambush.

Two dozen of the geth in varying sized leaned out over the railing and took aim at the people below. Nihlus just moved faster up the stairs. Alenko threw up a barrier with his mind alone, his hands busy disarming, and both Jenkins and Ashley took cover behind it, leaning out to open and draw fire when they could.

Harry, on the other hand, just twisted in place and apparated up to the upper level. As several of the geth began scanning for the missing victim, Harry hastily conjured a shield to maintain with his left hand as he began spellchaining with his right.

"_Zagen! Tonare! Glacialum Sperae! Urto! Ictus! Incendio! Bombarda! Zagen! Tonare!"_ As the second ball of lightning left his wand, the shield borne by his left hand finally crumbled. With no personal shields like the other squad members, Harry immediately took two rounds to his outstretched left arm, and had to apparate away. From his new position Harry took in the situation while absently paralyzing his arm. His spells had destroyed seven of the geth, including one of the medium sized ones. Nihlus had reached the top and was taking cover on the bridge that spanned the two sides of the platform. The three marines had almost joined him, the demolition charge left abandoned near the train. Thinking of which, from his position atop the spaceport walls, Harry looked around for any further charges.

He quickly spotted two below him on the catwalk, and one on the far side. Another moment's searching yielded a fifth charge tucked near the entrance to the spaceport's landing pad. Hurriedly, he toggled his comm, but the thing just sparked and fizzled, having had its fill of magic. Yanking it out and ignoring the jolt of pain now in his ear, Harry cast a _Sonorus_, amplifying his voice to an immense volume. He spoke quietly down towards the squad, but even then the sound bellowed forth and echoed about the cargo terminal, "**Alenko! Nihlus! There are four more charges! Two dockside and two farside! My comm's out! Nihlus, I'll move to cover you!**"

Harry watched as the squad split up, Nihlus moving towards the dockside, Alenko's team moving for the other. It figured Nihlus would take the harder path, as Harry had already damaged or destroyed many of the geth the marines would have faced. Apparating into cover beside Nihlus with a small pop, Harry took in the opposition. There were eight of the human sized ones, three of the medium ones, and one really, really big one with an antennae on its back.

Nihlus had moved over to the demolition charge and was disarming it, so cover was up to Harry. Their tactics having proved ineffective, the geth changed up their plans. As half the human ones all leaned out of cover and began firing, two of the medium ones and the big one all suddenly burst into a charge for Harry's position.

The two medium ones arrived first, and Harry incanted, "_Urto! Zagen! Zagen!_" The wave of force lifted both off the ground, and the pair of oversized spinning saw blades bisected them in a screech of metal. Meanwhile the big one had passed its fellow robots and was mere feet away.

Too bad for it that those feet were still too far, "_Urto! Sanctas Aurum Fulmen!_" The wave of upward force lifted it a meter off the ground, but the golden bolt of magic that followed sent it flying back until it hit the wall of the spaceport and remained nailed there, unable to move. The others hadn't stopped firing, however, and Harry's shield was beginning to waver. Ducking into cover, he took a moment to catch his breath. It had been a while since he'd exerted himself this hard for this long.

Just then, Nihlus rolled over to join him, absently tossing a grenade over at the geth, "This charge is disarmed, where's the other?"

"Over near the entrance to the pad, past the wall of killer robots!"

The turian's mandibles twitched, and Harry absently wondered if he was grinning or frowning.

"Can you pop over there and get them to turn around?"

Harry nodded, "One distraction, coming right up." A quick twist had him behind the low wall near the other charge. He didn't dare apparate right on top of it, but a few feet away should be safe enough. Thanking Merlin for numbing charms, Harry quickly prodded the holes in his left arm, scattering some blood onto the platform. Waving his wand, he was further grateful that the spell was deliberately nonverbal in nature, and he hoped that no one would question just what he did.

The _Fuego del Sangre_ was a very grey spell. His spilled blood would ignite and burn at his command, but it never gained the sentience or malevolence that _Fiendfyre_ granted. Still, it was cast silently, and he could remain in cover while controlling it. Finishing his wand motions, Harry brought the wand's tip down to the blood on the floor. The spots of blood lit up in cherry flames, and Harry pulled back into cover, sticking only far enough out to see where he ought to direct it.

Immediately, the flame exploded into being, growing until it towered over the geth. The robots quickly turned and several fired a few rounds, but they all leaped back into cover away from the fire that advanced upon them. Nihlus took advantage, firing at the exposed geth, but the damage he caused was nothing compared to the flames.

The bloodfire surged forward, igniting the air and melting through the metal barriers protecting the geth, and then melting through the geth themselves. When he could no longer see the geth at all, Harry reigned in the fire, forcing it back down until the only thing it burned to nothingness was the blood that spawned it.

The platform was alternately charred black and glowing orange, and Nihlus swiftly rose out of cover, racing along the blackest path he could find until he came to Harry's hiding spot and the charge beside it. As he worked, Harry noted the three marines rejoining them from the far side of the station. Nihlus finished up and turned to face him and the marines, his mandibles twitching once more, "That was…some distraction…"

The marines were far more interesting. Alenko looked tired, and he was frowning and absently rubbing his head. Jenkins and Ashley, on the other hand were looking at Harry with awe and longing. Jenkins was the first to break the silence, "You…you melted them…into puddles of geth goo…"

Ashley was next, "Can you please, please, please show me how to do that?"

Harry just smirked and tapped his nose with his finger, "Answers later, missions first." Silently, he rose to his feet and nodded at Nihlus. Anything further was cut off as a massive groaning noise reverberated across the air. Bright red sparks caught the squad's eyes as they watched the giant ship begin to lift off. As the sound once more sounded out, Harry felt a familiar chill crawl across his spine. Whatever that ship was, it was big, mean, and creepy as hell.

Nihlus on the other hand was swearing and quickly took off in the direction of the landing pad, calling over his shoulder, "If that ship's leaving, it means Saren's gone!" The squad raced through the building and down the path towards the dock. Several geth were stationed nearby, but the charging squad paid them little mind, some attention, and a lot of ordinance.

All too soon, they had cleared the platform, and after the three marines set up a perimeter, Nihlus and Harry approached the glowing green pillar at the edge of the dock. The turian was the first to speak, "Actual working Prothean technology! Incredible….but…why would he leave it here?"

Harry turned to Alenko and spoke, "Call the Normandy, get a shuttle down here for extraction and retrieval of the beacon." The biotic nodded, putting a finger to his ear and speaking towards someone on the other end. Meanwhile, Harry turned back to Nihlus and saw the turian standing near the beacon, examining it.

All of a sudden, the beacon pulsed and began glowing far more brightly, and Nihlus began jerkily sliding towards it. Not knowing what technology was at work and not wanting to make it worse, Harry sprinted as fast as he could, leaping towards Nihlus and grabbing him. Quickly slinging him away from the beacon, Harry attempted to follow but the beacon pulsed once more and then he was being dragged towards it.

Instantly he felt a presence start to attack his mind, and Harry quickly tried to reinforce his Occlumency barriers. They did nothing however, and the invading presence just grew stronger, attacking more forcefully. His eyes started blanking out from the spaceport around him, filling up with images of pain.

Images of death

Images of war, images of aliens, images of torture

Imagesofpainimagesofwarningi magesofplanetsimagesofdeathi magesofmetalimagesoffearimag esofsuffering

The vision kept increasing, showing more and more until it ended, mercifully, on the silhouette of a planet. That image held for but a moment before the beacon exploded, sending Harry crashing to the ground. His brain tried to make sense of everything, but the vision was too much, and Harry blacked out, his head falling to the ground.

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, this has been coming for a while. I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think! :) Either way, thanks for reading!

Now, two things I want to clear up, as they change over the three games: _weapon and armor loadouts_. Now, as ME3 is the latest version of "canon" I'm going to be rewriting history and using their weapon system. That means no unlimited ammo, thermal clips from the get go. It also means I'll be using the weapons listed there. Now, not all weapons will be available at the start, some were developed during the Reaper War and others were based on future tech (Quarian energy weapons developed after studying the Geth, for example) So there will be some seen here and in future stories, all will eventually become available.

Similarly, I will be using the ME2/ME3 armor system. The wetsuits exist, but are cheaper and typically used by lesser known or equipped forces. All of the squad will be using their ME2/ME3 suits or similar. Harry will by using something inspired by (of all things) the Jedi from the new Old Republic game. This is because I needed him to have a hardsuit for vacuum combat, but I wanted him to wear battlerobes as befitting a wizard, so I'm blending the two. If you want an image, search Youtube for the "Old Republic Cinematic Trailer," and pick the second one (Sith attack on the Jedi Temple).

**EDIT:** Okay I'm going to add this here and to the end of the fourth chapter because I'll admit I'm getting tired of replying to this particular brand of review. **Yes.** Yes, Harry can cast non-verbally. He does so several times in this chapter and the fourth. It happens. Now, it is my opinion, that the reason students are taught to verbally incant is to focus more on the spell, and put more into it. There is no reason why this benefit would go away with age. So when Harry needs absolute control, or to overpower a spell, he'll say the incantation. The reason he did so so often in this chapter, is because he has _never faced the geth before._ He doesn't know what the hell they are and what works. So while he's still learning, he's going to overpower his spells to be on the safe side.

Harry's Spellbook!

My knowledge of any language but English and to a lesser extent Spanish is non-existent, I'm using Google Translate to come up with these. If anyone knows the proper spelling/grammar/word usage, please! Tell me! :)

_Vincules Fulmen_ [Chain Lightning] – Bolt of lightning lances out from the caster's wand. If it hits a target, it will continue on to another target. The more power in the spell, the greater the number of targets struck, though the power/damage does not increase.

_Glacialum Sperae_ [Glacial Sphere] – A spinning orb of intense cold flies forth in a straight line, emitting smaller blasts of ice along the way. Relatively short range, only 5-10 meters.

_Sectumsempra_ [Severing Curse] – A cutting curse of Snape's design. Effectively layers several cutting curses into a single spell. Causes massive damage to unarmored targets, less effective on inanimate objects, as the spell is not intended for use against inorganic targets.

_Sanctas Aurum Fulmen _[Sacred Gold Bolt] – A combination piercing and sticking spell developed just after the fall of the Roman Empire, its bright gold color gives it its name. This hex flies forth and impales a target, lifting and carrying them until they impact a larger object. At that point, it changes, becoming a sticking charm that affixes the target to the object before dispersing. Used ironically to crucify Christian witch-hunters.

_Métal, rouille et briser!_ [Metal, rust and break!] – Old French area of effect spell, causes all metal within a 2-3 meter sphere to simply rust away and fall apart. Causes no damage to non-metallic targets. Will only cause damage but not destruction when cast without a full incantation.

_Lancea de Scelesto Terrem _[Lance of the Villainous Land] – A Roman spell meant to disrupt enemy formations. Upon casting it, the ground beneath the target erupts in spiked lances. Takes a large amount of power to perform, requires that the caster know where the enemy is, and that the target have actual earth under their feet.

_Cadens Fulgures_ [Falling Lightning] – Roman spell to call a bolt of lightning down upon a target. Increasing the power put into it increases the size and strength of the bolt, but the spell relies on the vocal intonation. Nonverbal versions will just cause the sky above to be a bit more electrically charged.

_Fuego del Sangre_ [Fire of the Blood] – A Spanish spell perfected by the conquistadors, this charm animates blood spilled by the caster, igniting it and granting them control over it. While not as powerful or blatantly dark as _Fiendfyre_, the use of blood forces a very grey classification upon it. Inspired by jbern's **Bungle in the Jungle.**

_Bombarda_ [Blasting Curse] – One of Harry's standard offensive spells: this curse flies forth and explodes on contact. The power put into the spell dictates the size of the explosion, but there is a limit to how much power the spell can take before it begins to break down…catastrophically.

_Urto_ [Impact] – One of Harry's standard offensive spells: An Italian spell that generates a wave of force. Effectively short range, but easy to use. As more power is put into it, the wave becomes larger, and there is no upper limit. However, the cost of casting it increases dramatically, making it worth less and less as the size increases.

_Zagen_ [Sawing] – One of Harry's standard offensive spells: A Dutch spell adapted for combat, this charm summons a floating serrated disc that moves at the behest of the caster. It can saw through most objects, and while it takes little energy to maintain, actually cutting things with it takes more energy depending on the toughness of the object. **EDIT:** Someone (a guest, so I can't thank them properly) left a review stating that 'zagen' meant 'sawing' and 'zaag' meant 'saw.' Given the similarities, and I'll admit my own bias in believing that 'zagen' will flow better in a story written in English, I'm going to alter the spell's translation, rather than alter the spell's incantation. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention!

_Ictus_ [Thrust/Pierce] – One of Harry's standard offensive spells: this curse flies incredibly fast, piercing through whatever it hits. Its effectiveness lessens as the density of the target increases. The spell will continue as long as it has power, so the caster must be wary of unintentional damage.


	2. Chapter 2: The Citadel: Part 1

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Mass Effect nor their affiliated bits and pieces are my property. The lucky people who do own them are J.K. Rowling and both Bioware and EA, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.

Author's Note: So, for the record, updates won't normally be this frequent. I try to be midway through the next chapter when I post, but after seeing the overwhelmingly positive response the first chapter got, I was on a pseudo-high (seriously, reviews are like literary chocolate cake, iced with social crack) and ended up blazing through the rest of the second chapter. Also, please note that Harry's going to be acting a bit differently than in the first chapter. This will be expanded on, but it primarily boils down to the fact that he's serious on missions, and playfully lighthearted otherwise.

Also, a quick note: while I may look things up to try to stay true to canon in both worlds, I'm primarily going by the HP books and the ME games. Not the movies and comics, respectively.

* * *

The Green Eyed Spectre

Chapter 2: The Citadel: Part 1

* * *

**SSV Normandy**

It was dark, and Harry Potter didn't know what the hell was going on. It took a few moments for his mind to try to think and realize that he was asleep. Quietly, scrunched his eyes together and began the slow and sore process of waking up. He took a deep, gasping breath as the pain in his arm hit him, and the dry, recycled air told him he was in space. Slowly opening his eyes, he was grateful to whomever the hell designed wherever the hell he was and whoever insisted on low blue lighting. Feeling another twinge of pain hit his skull, Harry grimaced and clenched his eyes shut again.

"Gah! Visions! Why is it always visions? I hate visions!"

His head finally starting to wake up along with his body, Harry blinked and started noting his surroundings. He was on a medical bed; that made sense. He was in an Alliance standard issue uniform; that did not make sense, but answers could wait. Harry's eyes darted about however, searching for h- aha, okay. His clothes and armor were tossed on the chair next to the bed. Ignoring the headache, he closed his eyes and turned his senses towards the gear. Good. His deliberately weak _Notice-Me-Not_ enchantment was still active. That explained the uniform. A simple deterrent against thieves and in the old days, nosy unspeakables, the enchantment would have been no obstacle for a medic trying to treat a wound, but it would be for a medic trying to redress him after treatment.

The sound of movement caught his ears and he looked up and around. Immediately, he noted the older lady in one of those bodysuits that were so fashionable these days, coming around her desk. She walked up, a reproachful frown on her face, and began scanning him with her omni-tool.

"Welcome back Commander, I'm Doctor Chakwas, Chief Medical Officer on the Normandy." Well, that at least explained where he was. "How are you feeling now?"

Harry quailed, as kind as her voice was, this woman had a core of iron that brought about traumatic flashbacks to Madam Pomfrey, "Minor headache, minor aches everywhere else, nothing I'm not used to. How long was I out?"

Dr. Chakwas crossed her arms, "About fifteen hours. You had us all worried earlier for a few moments. Your vitals decided to scare a week off my life by nearly flatlining not an hour ago, before subsequently progressing into something like a coma. I did not expect you to be awake before we reached the Citadel. And I do not appreciate my patients playing pranks on me, nor will I tolerate the same from their unconscious bodies."

Harry rose and reached up to scratch his head before realizing that his left arm was covered in some firm bandage. Oh, right, he'd been shot there. Well, another scar for the list. Sheepishly, he spoke up, "Ah, yeah…If you've got a rulebook on medical matters, you can pretty much consider me a universal exception."

Dr. Chakwas _un_crossed her arms, and one eyebrow quirked upwards, "Are you seriously telling me that y-"

Harry's eyes widened, and he hastily waved his arms to stop her. The aches flared up, but it was worth it, "Shhh! You'll ruin the plot, the bunnies hate that!"

All pretenses were discarded, the old woman was both gobsmacked and speechless. Trying to recover, she asked, "Bunnies, Shepard?"

"Plot bunnies. Hate spoilers, don'tcha know." Harry crossed _his _arms, two could play at that game, "Geez, inconsiderate."

He could begin to see a speck of anger growing in her, and Harry smiled on the inside. It had taken him quite a long time, but he'd finally understood just why his father and friends had enjoyed pulling pranks. Riling people up was just so much _fun_! Dr. Chakwas let out a miniscule growl and addressed him, "Shepard in the interest of _my_ health, are you always this ludicrous and nerve-wracking?"

"Unless I'm on a mission, pretty much." Harry let his eyes begin drifting wistfully upwards, "I loved my sanity. Had to let it go, you know?"

"I get the distinct feeling that you are going to be the death of my calm. Regardless, after your little magic trick," at that, Harry couldn't help releasing a snicker, "Your vitals remained passive but acceptably strong. You received a few scrapes and a graze on your right shoulder. Your left arm has two gunshot wounds. Which, by the way, I weren't able to treat until your reflexes eased off. I don't know how you made your arm lock up like that, but don't do it again. Continuing, your body showed typical signs of stress and tiredness, and you gave off very strange brain and REM readings, signs typically associated with vivid dreaming. In your case, however, I'm willing to posit that your brain is just that strange."

Harry just nodded, "Yep. Had another vision…_of the future!_ Or maybe the past. Hopefully the past, there was a lot of death and destruction. Merlin, why can't I ever get visions of veela orgies? Those would be far more preferable."

The doctor just sighed and rubbed her forehead, "I'm not sure if I ought to add that to my report," walking over near the door, she toggled the ship's comm, "Captain Anderson, Commander Shepard is both awake and annoying, please come retrieve him from my medbay."

Harry frowned a little, "I'm not a kid, you know. You're a kid."

The old woman just smiled that knowing smile adults (and Harry, frequently) used, and lectured, "If you will insist on acting like a child, I will insist on treating you like a child."

Harry just pouted, offering the puppy dog eyes he'd inherited from Sirius at her, and settled in to wait for the Captain.

* * *

**SSV Normandy**

Captain Anderson was not having the best day. The Normandy's first mission should have been a routine pick up and examination. Instead, humanity had been attacked by a threat no one had seen coming. The geth were bad enough, but throwing a rogue Spectre into the mix, let alone Saren himself, was a recipe for disaster. Silently, he suppressed his anger at the turian, and walked into the medical bay.

Shepard was sitting on one of the beds, looking pleadingly at Dr. Chakwas, but upon his entry, the wizard's eyes shifted towards him and his countenance darkened, his facial expression closing up.

Anderson turned to the experienced CMO, "How's our Commander doing?"

"He seems to be insufferably healthy, by all my scans. If further treatment is required, I recommend clinical defenestration, if only to spare the crew his insanity."

Quirking an eyebrow at the doctor's sarcasm, Anderson turned to the wizard himself, "Shepard?"

Shepard's voice was cold, "Doing fine, Captain. I assume you want answers?"

Anderson turned to Dr. Chakwas, "I'll need to speak with the Commander in private." The old lady nodded and left the medbay, closing the doors behind her, "You assume correctly, _Commander_."

"Retired, _boy_. And I'm looking for the same. Down there you ordered me not to assist the colonists. _Why?_"

A touch taken aback, Anderson didn't let his annoyance show. Looking Shepard up and down, he continued, "Boy, Shepard? Rather presumptuous. Regarding the mission, priority. As necessary as it was to save the colonists, recovering the beacon was more important. We don't have any idea what was stored there, Prothean technology? A weapon of mass destruction? And Saren made off with it, whatever it was."

Shepard shook his head, "I'm over two hundred years old, you're a boy to me. And it wasn't a weapon, that's for sure. The beacon gave me some kind of vision."

"A vision?"

"Yeah, nasty things. Haven't had to deal with one in a long time. Lots of images. Death, destruction, some kind of warning, whatever it means."

"I see. Well, whatever it was, Saren has it, and he'll be making further moves. We need to know what he's after. Saren hates humans, thanks to the First Contact War. He won't stop until we're erased from the galaxy. Not even Earth is safe, anymore!"

"Well, we better speak to Nihlus, then. Saren was his mentor. If anyone knows what he's up to, Nihlus might have the best idea."

"Understood Shepard. Now, you'll be using your alias as an old super-soldier project. So, advanced biotics in front of those not already aware of your…magic."

"So sayeth the Alliance. You realize, of course, that you'll never keep it under wraps, and I'm not particularly inclined to hide it." Harry rolled his shoulders, "I'll keep the secret for now, but it _will_ eventually come out, and that is likely to be sooner rather than later."

"I thought the magical world was completely separate and secret?"

"And I'm no longer a part of the magical community, Britain's or otherwise. It's no secret that they took away everyone I care about; I feel no obligation to obey them." Shepard sighed to himself, looking inward for a moment before continuing, "Look, we're off on the wrong foot. I get it. I understand that the beacon was a priority, but you cannot simply toss away those lives. Now the Alliance wants me as a political chew-toy. It's all bollocksed up." Shepard turned to face him and extended his hand, "Harry Potter, codenamed Shepard. Pleased to meet you, not pleased to be a political sacrifice again. Let's see if we can save some lives, this time."

Anderson took the peace offering for what it was and shook it. "Captain David Anderson, wary, but looking forward to saving lives as well. For the record, you've been reinstated, Commander, and have been provisionally assigned as the Normandy's Executive Officer. I'm also going to need a basic rundown of your abilities, so we can plan how to best deploy you."

Harry sighed again and shrugged, "Commander then. As for my abilities, they're too widely varied for me to explain them all. Deploy me as an advanced Adept, and if we run into a crazy situation, I'll probably have an answer for it. I'm pants at anything electronic requiring more calculations than an abacus can provide. And the only major weakness to my spellwork is in space combat. Magic and technology don't mix well, so casting spells on a ship or station is always a gamble."

"Explain."

"It might do nothing. It might explode. It might spontaneously turn into a salmon. All and more have already happened before. It's why I keep active magic use to a minimum on spaceships. One missed spell and we might end up soaring through space on the actual beaches of Normandy."

The words sent a tiny shiver down Anderson's spine. No soldier could avoid worrying about hull breaches, and he zeroed in on one fact, "Active magic?"

Harry nodded, "Most of my combat spells, external stuff. Enchantments and magical objects like my battlerobes are mostly passive, the magic's within them. They aren't a problem. Casting spells on or near technology is."

"Got it. For now, we'll speak with Nihlus, but we're on our way to the Citadel to meet with our ambassador and the Council."

At this, Shepard actually smiled. Strange, Anderson was under the impression that Shepard didn't like politicians. Before he could ask, the wizard spoke up, "Is Milady Squib still in power?"

Well that was decidedly odd, "Milady squid, Commander?"

"_Squib._ Milady _Squib_, the lovely Ms. Goyle."

"Ah…no, Ambassador Goyle retired some years ago, Ambassador Udina took her place. What the hell is a squib?"

"Non magical folk born to a magical family. The Goyles were an old pureblood family from Britain, one I personally eradicated more than a century ago. Extreme blood purists, they're probably spinning in their graves to know that the only survivors were disowned non magicals."

"Well, whatever the case, be in the cockpit in an hour. We should be nearing the Citadel then, so Nihlus will be up there. First though, as an officer you're required to be armed at all times. With your magic a secret, talk to Williams and grab a pistol."

Shepard snapped his finger and was suddenly wearing his 'battlerobes.' The Alliance uniform Dr. Chakwas has dressed him in was sitting on the chair nearest to his bed. The wizard quirked an eyebrow, "Williams, Captain? Isn't she garrisoned on Eden Prime?"

Anderson put it out of his mind, he could always ask him later, "She made a good show of herself, according to Alenko's and Nihlus' report. The Normandy is brand new, we're currently understaffed, and she's an experienced Gunnery Chief. She's been reassigned to manage our armory and assist on the ground."

"Good, about time she got some recognition."

"You know her?"

"Know her grandfather, and know that her family had a rough time after Shanxi."

"Understood. I'll be finalizing reports. Arm yourself, and be in the cockpit when we arrive."

* * *

**SSV Normandy**

Harry walked out of the med bay, glad that meeting was over. Never having seen her, he took in the ship around him. The med bay appeared to be on the starboard side, and if Anderson's trek to the opposite was any indication, the Captain's quarters were on the port. To his left was a makeshift mess hall and corridors behind them. To his right was a long, raised walkway flanked by a series of sleeper pods. Lovely, he supposed that meant hot bunking while he was on board.

Dr. Chakwas, who had been standing nearby, strode over and addressed him, "Commander. If you feel any more pain in your arm, or have the need to injure yourself further, I'll be in my medbay." He could have sworn she smiled at the end of it, but it was probably just a trick of the low lighting.

Not one to let such an opportunity pass by, he cheekily called out as she entered the medbay, "Love you too, you sultry minx!"

Spotting Alenko across the room fiddling with his locker, Harry strode over. He'd barely spoken with the biotic during the mission, but if Anderson ended up being set on Harry serving aboard the Normandy, he ought to know the crew.

The Lieutenant rose at his approach, absently rubbing a hand across his forehead. "Hello Commander, glad to see you're okay."

Harry smiled. From his tone, he would bet the young man was a decent person, never enough of those in the galaxy, "Yep, no thanks to the tyrant in the medbay."

Alenko seemed to take offense at that, and frowned, "Apologies, sir, but Dr. Chakwas is one of the nicer CMO's I've worked with…"

Harry held up his hands, "Relax, LT. She's good, I just like riling up medical staff."

Alenko grimaced a bit, rubbing his forehead, "Ah, sorry sir. Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, pleased to meet you, and I'll answer to any of the three."

"Alenko then. I follow similar rules, just call me Shepard. You alright?"

"Just a migraine, sir. Too much biotics."

Harry could see this propriety would take some work. Challenge accepted. "Understood. Didn't think the L3's had those problems, if you don't mind my asking."

"They don't. I'm one of the lucky L2's."

"An L2, huh? I'm guessing you're a career man?"

Alenko shrugged, tilting his head to the right, "Yeah, a lot of biotics are. I'm decent in a fight, and the Alliance always needs them; might as well get a paycheck for it. You know the drill, judging by the last mission, I think."

"Nah, those weren't biotics at all."

Alenko tilted back, his face perplexed, "Then what the hell were they? Biotics were the only explanation I could think of, however accurate a guess."

"Simple, those were '_advanced biotics_.' I'm not a biotic at all. So what _did_ you think of the mission?"

Alenko gaped for a moment before wincing, but this one directed at the mission, "Not quite fubar, sir, but not far off. Too many colonists died, that Saren got to the beacon regardless, and even then it ended up destroyed. I just hope we can catch the bastard." Clearly he was just going to put it out of his mind. Well, Harry wasn't going to let such a good source of amusement go that easily.

"No argument here. I understand we're off to the Citadel. Ever been?"

"No, biggest station I've set foot on was Jump Zero."

"Should be an adventure then. I'll let you get back to work, nice meeting you."

"You too, sir."

Harry turned and headed for the corridors at the back of the ship, leaving Alenko to keep playing with his locker. Once he rounded the bend, Harry took in the stairs on both sides and the elevator behind him. Dusting off his memories of Alliance ships, he wagered the armory would be down in the cargo bay, and toggled the elevator's controls.

One disturbingly, and in Harry's mind nefariously intentional, long ride later, the doors opened up and Harry took in the cargo bay. Despite its size, it seemed dark and somewhat cramped. The armory was off in the far left corner, judging by the sounds of tinkering, but Harry couldn't actually see it behind the Kodiak sitting to the left of the center aisle. On the right, however, stood a Mako, a six wheeled APC that Harry hadn't been allowed to drive in many years. Fortunately none of the squad knew that, and he could probably get them to let him drive once more.

Walking around the Kodiak's thrusters, Harry gazed over at the racks of weapons and the bench covered in components, along with the Gunnery Chief working there. There was a small aisle of space between the shuttle and the wall, and the wall itself was riddled with equipment lockers and shuttered racks of weapons. As he approached, the girl looked up from the disassembled assault rifle and glanced over, immediately standing up straight and saluting, "Mr. S- Commander Shepard, sir!"

Harry saluted back before leaning against one of the lockers, speaking, "At ease, Ashley, no need to stand on formality. Being a Commander doesn't make me any less of a crazy old man. Probably quite the opposite, now that I think about it."

She just brought up an innocent face, "I'd never say such a thing about a superior officer, sir."

Harry let out a bark of laughter before settling down, adopting a serious visage, "I'm betting you've got some questions. First things first, however, I'm in need of a sidearm, apparently. What sort of pistols have we got?"

"Nothing fancy, just a stock of Predators."

Well that was odd, "On a top of the line frigate? What's the rest of the armory look like?"

"Pretty much the same. Predators, Avengers, and Katanas, primarily. Got a few Mantises and Shuriken each, as well."

"Well, that's something we'll have to remedy. Sign me out a Predator if you will, along with the thermal clips and a leg holster, if we've got one. Left-handed."

Ashley turned to the terminal attached to the armory and began typing, "Why not just use a mag clamp?"

"Never liked them. And since I'm old, crotchety and stubborn, I'm allowed to be set in my ways."

"Old, yeah. You said you served with Granddad, but…come on, you've got to be thirty! Tops!"

Harry just smirked and wagged his finger, "For shame! You should never ask a lady her age."

Ashley just goggled before shaking her head. Finished at the terminal, she walked over to one of the wall mounted racks, opening it up, "No holsters, sorry. You can probably find one on the Citadel, I suppose." Taking the pistol out along with a small round object, she passed them over, "One Predator, and a makeshift mag clamp for the time being." Closing the weapon rack, she turned to the sealed cases below it. Opening one, she withdrew a few thermal clips and tossed them over. Harry slid them into one of the pouches on his belt, left empty and unenchanted for random needs like this one. The mag clamp clipped onto the left thigh plate of his hardsuit. He then checked the safety, loaded the Predator and readied it, attaching it to the mag clamp. Straightening up, he practiced drawing it a few times, making sure it fit right. With his right hand always casting, He'd needed to learn how to shoot with his left, and it had become the norm.

Taking the datapad she offered, he quickly looked over the requisition form before signing his name on it and passing it back. Looking up, he could see Ashley waiting silently, but he could also see the slight impatience bubbling up. Giving a small smile, he spoke, "Mission's over, answers now."

The marine lit up and began rapidly speaking, "You really fought with Granddad on Shanxi? How? How old are you anyway? You're not a lady, at least I hope you aren't. And what were you using on the mission? And how did you make that super fire wave? And can you show me how? And why do you get the cool armor and coat? Who are you, really? Where are you from?"

Harry backed up, raising his hands in surrender, and the marine settled back, her cheeks coloring a bit. Harry just put one hand to his chin, "Let's see now. In order, then: Yes, I fought with your Granddad. I used my '_advanced biotics_' like on Eden Prime. I'm older than you are. A lot older than you are, and married. I was using '_advanced biotics._' I made the super fire wave with my '_advanced biotics._' No, I can't show you how to use '_advanced biotics._' And I made my cool battlerobes, because there's no way in hell the Alliance is getting me into a wetsuit. My secret identity is a secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you, which would probably make your granddad try to kill me. And I'm from London." He supposed he wasn't really helping to keep the secret of his magic by air quoting the words, '_advanced biotics,_' but Harry really didn't give a damn.

The girl was clearly torn between relenting and pressing him further. Deciding to offer another tidbit, Harry continued, "You know, we met once before. You probably don't remember. It was on Sirona, you must've been three or four. I was visiting your granddad, and he'd been tapped to watch you. This was after he retired, of course. You were all pony tails and scraped knees. Very demanding, too. Kept trying to catch my bird."

The marine had a horrified look on her face, the kind that only children getting embarrassed by their guardians can properly wear, "Your bird?"

"Yeah, you know. Feathers, beak, wings? My bird. I'd show you, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea on the ship." Horror was turning into curious incredulity, and Harry resisted the urge to grin. He'd corrupt her with his sarcastic ways yet.

"You…have a stowaway bird on the ship?"

"Yep, keep him in my hat, you see. Like a magician!"

That frustrated and infuriated look had returned, mission accomplished, "But you're not _wearing_ a hat. You didn't have a hat when we brought you on board. There is no hat!"

"Bloody hell, you don't need to make me feel bad about it. That's just rude."

Growling, the marine just pointed towards the elevator with narrowed eyes, and Harry chuckled as he walked off. After taking the elevator up, he went through a quick tour about the ship to familiarize himself with it before retreating to the mess. On his way up, he'd snagged an ensign and got them to bring him a crew roster and inventory. Scanning it, he quickly realized that the Alliance had a quartermaster on board, and contacted him over the ship's comm at the base of the stairs. Requesting an updated inventory and list of items to be obtained on the Citadel, Harry went back to his 'meal.' Three tasteless ration bars and enough water to wash them down later, he was ready to head on up. He was going to have to find a way to get some real tea on board. It just wouldn't be right otherwise.

He was halfway to the cockpit when another ensign raced up behind him and handed him an optical storage drive. Bugger, he'd hoped to get a datapad, those he could at least use for a while. But reading an OSD took an omni-tool, and no tool had yet been built that could handle Harry's magic. He supposed he could get a squadmate to look it over for him.

He entered the cockpit, joining Nihlus near the back. The turian was stoically examining the terminals and their reports on the Normandy. Which, to Harry's eyes, was a never ending babble of letters and numbers. Some of the words made sense on their own, but putting them all together was like mixing the pieces of three identical puzzles up and then trying to assemble each puzzle upside down and blindfolded.

Gibberish, in other words.

Clearing his throat, Harry addressed the turian, "I believe I'm supposed to subtly interrogate you, with the intent of finding out anything you know about Saren and his possible motivations."

"And doesn't covert interrogation typically work better if the target is unaware they are being interrogated?"

"Probably. If Anderson wanted the answers that badly, he could have asked you himself instead of sending someone else. Me especially."

"You show a disturbing lack of loyalty to your commanding officer."

"He wasn't my commanding officer yesterday, and even then he was ordering me to abandon civilians to die. This is my petty but deserved revenge upon him."

"Well, it will do little good. The Saren I knew wasn't like the Saren we encountered. I'll be putting everything that can help into the report on him. If I'm correct, and I believe I will be, you'll see it soon enough."

"Well that's not ominous at all."

Hearing footsteps, he glanced backwards to see Alenko and Ashley both walking up to the cockpit. The two entered, Alenko sitting down in the copilot chair besides Joker, and Ashley stepping over to the windows on the left. Joker, now in a brighter mood spoke up, "Good timing, y'all. We're just about to clear the relay. Be nice to see all that tax money at work."

Nihlus got the pilot's attention, "Contact Citadel Control as soon as possible once we pass through, and request a secure comm to the Council."

Joker just shrugged and turned back to his display, "Yes, sir. Relay's in range, initiating transmission sequence." A tiny shudder ran through the hull. "We are connected, calculating transit mass and destination." The screens began furiously computing, displaying the relevant information to Joker. "The relay is hot, acquiring approach vector." At that point Joker triggered the shipwide comm, "All stations, secure for transit. Board is green, approach run has begun. Hitting the relay in three…two…one…" Looking out the window, Harry could see the corona of energy envelope the Normandy before shooting them off to another part of the galaxy. It was always a decidedly odd feeling. "Thrusters…check. Navigation…check. Internal Emission Sink engaged. Everything's green. Drift...right around fourteen sixty K."

Both Nihlus and Alenko nodded, but neither one said anything, and Harry didn't know if that was good or bad. The space outside the cockpit windows was filled with tiny particles, giving the impression of thick, purple clouds, and hiding behind them was the Citadel.

Joker dove, and the clouds parted, revealing the massive station backlit by the star. Five titanic arms branching off an armored ring, the Citadel was certainly a sight to see. Joker kept his distance, remaining well within sight of the large fleet of ships patrolling the area. One massive one in particular was close, however, and Ashley couldn't help but comment, "Look at the size of that ship!"

Kaidan was quick to respond, he'd seen it himself, "The Ascension, flagship of the Citadel fleet."

On the other hand, Harry knew just how possessive pilots could be, and Joker proved no exception, "Well size isn't everything."

Ashley's voice just adopted a teasing lilt, "Why so touchy, Joker?"

"I'm just saying you need firepower too."

"Look at that monster! Its main gun could rip through the barriers of any ship in the Alliance fleet!"

Kaidan was on hand to play peacemaker. "Good thing it's on our side then." Harry supposed that as the sort-of Executive Officer, he probably ought to have done that, but he'd never been the best with regulations himself.

As one of the indicators on his console finally lit up, Joker toggled it and spoke, "Citadel Control, this is SSV Normandy, requesting permission to land and a secure comm to the Council."

"Stand by for clearance, Normandy…clearance granted. You may begin your approach, but I cannot authorize a comm to th-"

Nihlus turned to the station at his right, tapping a few buttons and overriding the transmission, "This is Spectre Nihlus Kryick, Authorization code nine six korvus three doren gal seven. Open a secure line to the Council. Now."

The sound of frantic tapping reached them, and Harry couldn't help but smile a little. He was beginning to like the turian operative, "Understood, Spectre. Pilot, we are transferring you to an Alliance operator." Instructions began appearing on Joker's console, and Harry had to repress a snort. Apparently the Council trumped an Alliance tech on audio priority, who knew?

The vid in front of Nihlus lit up into a three split screens. The Councilors, for that must be who they were, sat behind desks filled with datapads, and the asari in the middle spoke up, "Nihlus, greetings. We didn't expect to hear from you this quickly. I assume the beacon is on board?"

Nihlus just shook his head, and the three Councilors now looked up with far more interest, "No, Councilors. There has been an unexpected and problematic development. I must speak with you immediately, in private. I would also request the presence of the human ambassador, Udina, along with Captain Anderson and Commander Shepard."

The three councilors just looked down or over, checking their terminals. At the nods of agreement, Tevos continued, "Very well. We will meet in my office in one hour. I will contact Ambassador Udina."

* * *

**Citadel**

"You are positive that Saren was present."

"He stood not two feet from me as we spoke. He's got some new scars, but it's him alright."

"This is quite unsettling, Nihlus. We have heard no indications that Saren was beginning to go rogue. And you say he has allied with the geth?"

"I can't be one hundred percent sure, but all signs point to it. The geth attacked the colony, likely for the beacon. Saren was present when he had no reasons to be, apart from the beacon that was already going in for Citadel examination. He disappeared as the geth did, and when running from me, the geth let him pass by unhindered. According to Commander Shepard, and I'm inclined to believe him, Saren also had his pistol to my head and would have killed me if not for Shepard's intervention."

The three councilors turned to Harry, and Sparatus addressed him, "Can you explain your actions?"

"I arrived at the platform before either Saren or Nihlus. When Saren arrived, I hid and watched, as I didn't know what Nihlus looked like at the time, and as such, didn't know if that was him. I contacted Nihlus, and apprised him of the situation. He, in turn, moved to the platform and confronted Saren. At one point in their conversation, Saren had walked behind Nihlus, and Nihlus was turned away. Saren withdrew his pistol and had it aimed at the back of Nihlus' head when I intervened, costing Saren his prosthetic arm and forcing him to flee."

The three looked between themselves, before Valern spoke, addressing Nihlus, "Very well, Nihlus. Given your testimony, Saren will be stripped of his status as a S-"

Harry cut the salarian off, "Wait, Councillors, please hear me out. Don't remove his Spectre status."

Valern and Tevos both frowned at his inpertinence. Harry wondered if Sparatus had as well, but he couldn't read turian facial expressions very well. Tevos spoke up, her voice harsh and inquisitive, "Why?"

They were listening? Weird. Politicians never listened to him, "Because if you do, he'll know we're on to him, and disappear completely."

Nihlus' mandibles twitched once, apparently in frustration, given his tone, "It's irrelevant, Saren knows that I am aware. He'll go to ground regardless."

"Exactly."

Valern just looked at him with an intrigued and thoughtful look upon his face, "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting we use that."

* * *

**Sovereign**

On board his flagship, Saren sat in his personal quarters. Or what passed for them in this strange vessel. The geth on board had just finished reattaching a replacement prosthetic arm, and Saren was resting with a glass of brandy. Maintenance on his arm always left his chest and shoulder sore, and replacing it was no different.

Thinking about the pain led to thinking about how he lost it. One of those damnable primates had hit him with some sort of attack, severing it just as he was about to eliminate Nihlus. Despite his keener senses, he'd sworn that there hadn't been any nearby humans when he went to examine the fallen geth.

That had changed upon returning to Sovereign. He'd demanded the geth display anything related to the human who had attacked him, and the geth had immediately complied, offering him fragmented footage of those programs which had been able to upload themselves back to Sovereign. They were…eager, to help him deal with this nuisance, and it wasn't until Saren watched the footage that he realized why.

The geth were logical constructs. This human defied logic at every turn. Altering the landscape, appearing and disappearing at will. And then there had been that fire. He hadn't seen a flamethrower on the human's person, let alone the fact that he didn't know of a flamethrower that could burn like that.

This human…was a problem. A problem that was already causing Saren trouble, and therefore one that would have to be dealt with, immediately.

The screen to his left lit up, and he dropped his hand away from his face to examine it, revealing a notification of an incoming transmission. He reached out and accepted it, standing up in front of the chair. The A.I. that ran Sovereign would filter his transmission's visual feed, as it always did, making him appear to be in the cockpit of a Kowloon-class freighter.

The large screen on the wall lit up, and the Council appeared before him, Sparatus, Tevos and Valern. "Councilors, how may I be of service?"

Sparatus was the first to speak, taking the initiative and allowing his compatriots time to analyze, "Saren, greetings. You may not be aware, but some disturbing allegations have come to light regarding your actions. We require a complete brief on your current mission and whereabouts."

Of course they did. Obviously they knew he was involved, Nihlus would have reported in by now. So what were they planning on doing? "Of course, Councilors. Forwarding my latest mission brief and its most updated status now. I'm currently in the Styx Theta Cluster, Acheron System."

Moments passed as the three briefly looked at the data scrolling across their terminals. Valern, however, was alternately looking between his terminal and his omni-tool. Soon, the salarian Councilor spoke up, "Everything seems to be in order. And STG tracking confirms your location. We apologize for the questions, but we had to know."

Let's see if he could get some answers of his own, "Of course, Councilors, I understand. May I ask what the allegations were?"

Once again, Sparatus spoke, "An attack on a minor human colony. Another operative believed you to be present, but was unable to confirm, obviously. Apparently the geth have been sighted outside the veil, we're sending the operative to track them down."

"Indeed. If I can be of any assistance, please order it."

The three exchanged glances. At last, the asari Councilor, Tevos, spoke, "This is a somewhat indelicate matter, but it is one we would appreciate. It is well known that you dislike the humans, and we cannot blame you for your past. Our trust is not dislodged, but it is shaken. We would ask that for the immediate future, you submit more frequent reports on your missions and whereabouts. This should allay any concerns that may arise."

"It shall be as you wish, councilors. If that is all?"

Valern nodded, "Indeed. Best of luck in your endeavors, Saren."

"Thank you." The transmission cut out, and Saren sat down heavily in the chair. Damnation. Continuing to create a false trail would take more time and energy, and he wondered if it was even worth it. They obviously knew that he was no longer working on their behalf. He grabbed the glass of brandy, nearly crushing it in his talons, and was about to bring it to his mouth when a smooth hand was placed over it.

Benezia, her face darkened but her form undaunted by time, calmly took the glass out of his hand. It was probably for the best, given his irrational urge to throw it. The pain and brandy was clearly having a greater effect on him than he realized if he didn't notice her entering the room.

Clearing her throat, she spoke confidently, "We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime. The Normandy, a human Alliance vessel. It was under the command of Captain Anderson. They managed to save the colony."

Saren cut her off. The few remaining geth units were still occasionally reporting back in, of course they had managed to save the colony. What mattered was the Prothean tech, "And the beacon?"

"One of the humans may have used it."

He felt the pounding in his head intensify, the claws on his spine dig in. Furiously snarling, he knocked the glass from her hands and locked his eyes with hers, whispering, "Who?"

Benezia just held his stare and matched his tone, clearly enunciating each word, "You know who."

* * *

Author's Notes: In reading up on the First Contact War, I came across the figure stating that only 623 humans lost their lives during the conflict. This puzzled me, as I also remembered reading that an exploratory patrol of three frigates and two cargo ships was destroyed, triggering the war, though one of the cargo ships escaped to warn the Alliance. A retaliatory Alliance force managed to destroy the Turians, but some were certainly destroyed. During the siege, the Turians were using orbital bombardment (unless the results of my research are inaccurate) and would often destroy _city blocks_ to eliminate a single fire team. Now, surely many of these urban zones would have been evacuated or deserted, but not all of them. Considering crew size on the ships and the length of time the Turians laid siege to Shanxi, I find it hard to believe that casualties were _limited_ to 623. So, not to expand this too terribly, I'm going to up the count by a factor of 10: i.e. 6,320 casualties, and that is _with_ Harry's interference and aid in defending Shanxi, which never fully surrendered.

Also, one small note: I've realized that there is a plot hole I'm going to have to ask you to ignore. The Universal Translators are probably electronic or nanomachinery, but I can't think of a way to have Harry interact without them, apart from a blatantly overpowered deus ex machina spell. If anyone has an idea, please let me know. I don't want to leave this plot hole open, but I think I have to.

EDIT: Thanks for all the ideas, people. I think I'm actually going to go with something similar to the Farscape translator microbes, which a few of you mentioned, and I'm ashamed I didn't think of. It won't be mentioned overtly, and I might touch on it later, but I did want to erase that plot hole. Thanks for all the support, you all are awesome!


	3. Chapter 3: The Citadel: Part 2

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Mass Effect nor their affiliated bits and pieces are my property. The lucky people who do own them are J.K. Rowling and both Bioware and EA, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.

Author's Notes: Wow! 4000 views already! Holy reviewers, Batgarrus! Two quick things. First, I don't know if it was apparent, but this story is unbeta-ed. While I know my spelling is decent, I'm also aware that my grammatical skills are shoddy at best. So, I wanted to apologize in advance for all the errors I'm sure are in there, but I can't spot. Secondly, just as a shameless plug: Some of you enlightened individuals may recognize a number of core plot elements to this story. I will freely admit that _Browncoat, Green Eyes_ by Nonjon is a major inspiration for what I have going on here. (Check my favorites list to find it quickly if you like Harry Potter and Firefly) The title is a small nod to that wonderful piece of work, and you may see the occasional reference thrown in.

* * *

The Green Eyed Spectre

Chapter 3: The Citadel: Part 2

* * *

"You know he won't send us accurate locations."

Harry looked at Valern, meeting the salarian Councilor's gaze, "Yeah, but it may narrow down places he isn't, and he'll have to spend more time creating a plausible trail. Every minute he's doing that is one he's not working as a threat. And if we're lucky, we may be able to control what ground he goes to. It'll buy us more time to get on his trail and catch him."

"Sound planning. Tevos, Sparatus, perhaps it is time to review another matter. Nihlus, what is your opinion of Shepard's viability as a Spectre?"

Sparatus violently twisted to face the salarian, his mandibles flexing, "You cannot be serious, Valern. Shepard destroyed the beacon. His files are a mess of conflicting reports and hearsay. The humans may think he's some super soldier, but all I can see is a failed experiment." Well that just hurt his feelings. And since Sparatus (and most turians, come to think of it) couldn't decide between being a bird or a lizard, he shouldn't complain about conflicting reports.

Tevos put her arm on the turian's, and the gesture seemed to bring Sparatus back down to rationality, "Sparatus, in spite of the issues, Nihlus' report was very complimentary, if unusual."

Sparatus just ran his talons along his fringe and continued, "Nevertheless, we do not know enough about Shepard himself." His voice then quieted, "You all know as well as I that this is a massive political step. I still question whether humanity is ready."

Udina stepped forward, "And we question why you hold us back! We have pro-" his voice suddenly cut out, and he stood there trying to speak, but saying nothing. The Councilors turned to Harry, who had his hand outstretched, having immediately resheathed his wand.

Good, at least nothing had exploded this time, "That's better isn't it? Maybe now you can _listen_, instead of demanding. Your lesson will end in an hour. I can't believe I'm actually missing a member of the Goyle family." Harry then turned from the reddening ambassador, and addressed the three leaders, "Councilors, I've seen quite a lot for a human in my time. I am fully aware of the dangers that rushing forward, attempting something before you're ready possesses. In my youth, I was the one rushing, and while I've not entirely stopped," Here he pointed a thumb at the silenced ambassador, "I've learned the wisdom of careful preparation."

He knew he was probably going to pay for silencing Udina, but the man was just so bloody annoying! Seeing that he had their undivided attention, Harry just forged on, "However, Saren attacked the planet I now call home. He killed my friends, my neighbors, practically everyone in the town where I lived. I _will_ be pursuing him. And I _will _find him. Whether I do that as a Spectre, an Alliance Commander, or a private citizen is up to you."

Tevos was the first to regain her voice, "Perhaps we should return to Valern's question. Nihlus, your response?"

The turian shifted his gaze from Udina to the three Councilors, "He's viable. Unorthodox, professional, morally firm, and headstrong, but viable. I don't know about his investigative skills, and by his own admission, he has no skill with electronics whatsoever. Overall, he seems to have more of the good traits humanity offers than the bad." Here, Nihlus turned away from the Councilors and looked at Harry, "He's also easily the strangest human I've not only met, but heard of."

Well, Harry wasn't going to let an opening like that pass by, "Merlin, slinging all those compliments my way. Ought to be careful, might give a girl ideas." There was a moment when the office, Udina included, just stilled and gazed at Harry with a curious mixture of expressions. It was fun being him.

Captain Anderson just planted his face in the palm of his hand.

Nevertheless, the moment passed and the Councilors came back to themselves. Silently, they looked at each other, holding a silent conversation with their expressions and gazes alone. They broke, and Tevos was the first to speak, "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel. For now, this position will not be made public, as you will be pursuing Saren. In time, however, I am confident that it will be. Commander Shepard, step forward."

The three councilors arrayed themselves, and Harry moved to stand in front of them. He was half tempted to cast a lullaby charm, only tweaked to play dramatic music.

Valern was the first to speak, "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

Tevos followed him, "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

And Sparatus finished, "Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

Tevos spoke once more, taking the lead, "You are the first human Spectre, Commander. No matter our bickering, know that this is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

Harry nodded, accepting. Still facing the three, he addressed Tevos, "I am honored. So what happens next, Councilor?"

"Now, we watch. Consider the pursuit of Saren your final test flight. You have been accepted into the Spectres, Commander, but we must know more about you to properly make use of your talents. Furthermore, as there has never been a human Spectre, we must learn what we can from your trial. Nihlus will accompany you. Now, if that will be everything, we all have quite a bit of work to do."

With that, the group departed from Tevos' office. The councilors heading for their own, while the four left paused outside. Udina was looking both angrily and imploringly at Harry, so with a sigh, Harry dispelled the charm and snapped his fingers, a little misdirection never hurt anyone. Well, not usually.

"_How dare yo-_" Harry quirked his eyebrow and held up his fingers, ready to snap. Udina just continued in a normal voice, "We will be discussing this later. You'll need a ship, no doubt. Anderson, come with me!"

Harry stepped forward, "Wait!" Both men paused and turned their heads to face him. "There's still one thing left. Captain, as I'm now a part of the Spectres, I'm sure you understand why I'll be resigning my commission. Again."

Anderson just shook his head, "Admiral Hackett told me you'd do that. Sorry, Commander, I can't accept. Orders from higher brass. You're effectively to remain on the roster as an honorary Staff Commander. We understand your orders now come from the Council, but it was determined that you should remain a part of the Alliance Navy, active or not."

Harry just sighed, it figured. Give the politicians one inch, and they'll milk your firstborn, or something like that. "I suppose Commander Shepard sounds better than Spectre Shepard. Though I guess technically I'm both now." In his own mind, Harry was dreading the day his real name came out. Spectre Potter just wasn't that impressive or intimidating.

With that, the two men strode off, already beginning to argue. Nihlus and Harry were the only ones left, and the turian was just staring at him.

"What?"

Nihlus released a sigh and spoke, "Let's head to the Spectre offices. I need to pick up some intel and organize an investigation into Saren's activities. And if you could show me that silencing trick, I would be incredibly grateful."

"Sorry, trade secret. Who'll you have on the investigation?"

"C-Sec will run the investigation, it's part of their purview. There are a few officers I can trust, and a few more who know how to keep their mouths shut."

"And when we get a lead?"

"We pursue it, obviously. Rather, you will pursue it." Harry quirked his eyebrow. Fortunately, Nihlus appeared to be familiar enough with humanity to catch Harry's unasked questions. "The induction of a Spectre included these words, 'Spectres are not trained, but chosen.' This idea dictates how we recruit Spectres. As you now know, there's no top secret program or anything like that. We take note of the exceptional soldiers. The leaders, the assassins, the grunts, the operatives, and so on. The ones who have something extra. We don't train you to be a Spectre, Shepard, you already are one. We just recognize and authorize it."

The two reached the elevator that would lead to the offices and Nihlus toggled the controls before continuing, "To do that, of course, we have to know the subject very well. You were flagged by the Alliance and approved for observation by myself and several other operatives. Now, as a provisional Spectre, you will be monitored and guided by a mentor, yours truly. Prove that you are indeed capable and trustworthy, and you'll be a fully recognized operative."

The elevator stopped, and the two stepped out, Nihlus leading the way, "So yes, you will be pursuing Saren. You now have the authority of a Spectre, and how you use it will factor into my reports. I will be observing, providing intel, assisting on the ground, and coordinating with the Council. However, you will be leading the operation. Of course, if I feel you are unreasonably deviating from the mission, I will assume control as necessary."

Harry just gave a half-hearted smile, "Well, no pressure then, huh?"

The turian's mandibles twitched, but Harry got the impression it was a smile, an impression that was reinforced by the turian's tone, "One more thing, Shepard. In order to maintain their independence, Spectres receive limited to no financial support from the Council. It's not a perfect system, especially when we have to deal with a rogue agent, but it does provide far greater independence. As such, you'll have to figure out some form of income. Given the political positioning, the Alliance may offer you some support, but I can't say how much. Most Spectres end up investing in businesses to stay in the black."

"Well, I suppose that's one thing I don't have to worry about."

"Oh?"

"Nihlus, I'm betting you know this, but there will always be a number of constants in the universe." Harry started ticking off on his fingers, "Food, shelter, medical care, government, education, reporters, war, and sex. Up until I left Earth, I'd made my living doing all but the last. Since space was a new adventure for me, I figured I'd try my hand at something new. Ever heard of Fornax?"

The turian looked horrified, his mandibles twitching spasmodically, "You've got to be joking."

Harry just shrugged and smirked, "Nope, founder and still primary shareholder."

Nihlus closed his eyes and shuddered for a moment before slowly relaxing, "Ah, okay. Well, at least that's better than the mental images you were giving me."

Good, he'd gotten a reaction, now to take it that _one_ step further, "Relax. I like seeing all the different cultures that the galaxy has to offer, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go out and bang a hanar. Let alone allow them to record the copious amounts of sticky love for posterity."

Nihlus whimpered. Actually whimpered. In all fairness, it was a small whimper, barely audible, but it was still there, and Harry's smirk expanded into a disturbing grin. Fortunately for the turian and his pride, they'd reached the Spectre offices. Nihlus quickly led the way, through the hallway filled with scanners. Hurriedly, he pointed towards a small alcove to the right with a terminal in it, "I need to check up on intel. That terminal connects to Spectre Requisitions. Go do that. Now, please."

Harry walked over, activating the console. It popped up with a list of available items, organized by type. Accessing the weapons listings, he began to browse. There were numerous pieces displayed along with their information. Some he recalled from older missions with marines. Recognizing the names and pictures, he quickly ordered six each of the Paladins, Tempests, Crusaders, and Vipers. He also managed to find a holster for one of the Paladins. In truth, he didn't mind the mag clamps, but his magic minded the tiny chip in them that regulated the magnetic fields. Going into battle and having your pistol constantly falling off was just plain embarrassing,

The others that he eventually flagged took a little bit of digging. Four Phaestrons were added to the list, the turian assault rifles were superior to the Avengers they had on board, and would be a boon. A pair of Graal Spike Throwers were ordered as well. He wasn't sure if he could convince the rest of the squad to go thresher hunting with him, but if he could, he wanted them to have some weapons that could actually damage the worms. Just as he was about to switch over to the many mods available, one last weapon caught his eye. As a purveyor of explosions himself, the M-100 Grenade Launcher was a very shiny toy. Much like the Spike Thrower, he added a pair to the list of weapons to be ordered.

Finally, he switched over to examining the many after-market mods available for weapons and armors. With his eyes watering from such a large list, he just skimmed through the entire thing. He'd examine his memory of it later, make a list and give it to Ashley. She could tell him what they ought to get better than he could anyway. Thinking of Ashley, however, brought to mind the ridiculous pink and white wetsuit that she'd been using. He wasn't sure who the hell came up with it, but he wasn't going to let the granddaughter of a good friend wear it into battle. Switching item types, he began browsing through some of the human and asari combat hardsuits, quickly snagging one from a human manufacturer that was roughly her size. She could tweak it with the armor fabricators on the Normandy, but it would serve her better than the monstrosity.

Before switching to his list of almost purchases, he added an entire crate of krogan shield generators. While bulkier and not as advanced as their Alliance counterparts, the rugged shields were practically the only ones that could last longer than a single mission with his magic. Even then, he'd always run through them quickly.

Finally switching over to his list of ord- wow. That was a lot of money. It was a good thing he was so nice, or he wouldn't be paying that much for the Alliance. Absently, he wondered what Udina would do if he offered the ambassador a multi-million credit receipt. Tapping the console, Harry quickly separated the list by their providers, and began the tedious process of authorizing a direct transfer from one of his accounts. To each he attached a memo, promising an additional fifteen percent if the order was delivered to the Normandy within an hour. It was a shame that credit chits were highly secure technological wonders. He'd flash fried the first two he'd ever tried to carry, and the third had spontaneously turned into a ferret. The man running the store had not been pleased.

Before he could further ruminate, Nihlus returned, a datapad in hand. The turian looked up from it and addressed him, "Find anything good?"

"A few things, on their way to the Normandy now, hopefully."

"Good. I've collected what I can, and have started the investigation. There may be a few leads that we can pick up. The officer I'll be working with is Garrus Vakarian. Young, but methodical and he knows he has a lot to live up to. Father was career C-Sec. I'm going to head over and begin searching."

Harry nodded, Nihlus had contacts and knowledge of C-Sec that Harry simply didn't have, and with his lack of electronic skill, He'd probably just end up in the way, "Then I'll head back to the Normandy, see if I can find out what sort of support the Alliance is willing to offer us, and convince them to offer a little more. If you find anything, let me know. If combat's to be expected, I'll grab Alenko and Ashley."

"Understood, good luck."

"You too."

"You're the one dealing with politicians."

* * *

Upon returning to the docking bay, he'd found Anderson and Udina speaking near the airlock. As he approached, Udina turned to glare at him, arms crossed over his chest, a pose that Anderson held as well.

"Commander. It seems the Alliance is more invested in your success than I imagined. Captain Anderson is stepping down from command of the Normandy, the ship is yours, at least for the duration of your mission." Harry turned an inquisitive look at Anderson, and received a nod in return.

Well that was surprising. Harry spoke up, "I can't say that I saw that coming. I expected to haggle for passage aboard her. Anderson, this right?" At Udina's sputtered cry, he turned back to the ambassador, "It's not that I don't trust your word, I just don't trust politicians in general."

Anderson filled the silence that ensued, "She's quick and quiet, and you already know some of the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre."

Harry sighed. There was more to this than was apparent, "Come clean with me Anderson, why are you stepping down?"

"I was in your shoes some years ago, Shepard. Being considered for the Spectres. I didn't make the cut, it's not something I'm proud of."

"There's more to it. That alone wouldn't be reason to strip you of your command."

The Captain shifted, dropping his arms to his sides and imperceptibly slouching, "You're right. The Spectre observing me was Saren. One of the missions went very poorly, an assassination. There was a terrorist hiding on a small mining asteroid, the mission was to eliminate him. We both got in separately. A few minutes later, there was an explosion that killed a lot of miners, and the target escaped. Saren's report named me as the cause, and that ended any chance of me joining the Spectres." At this Anderson's countenance darkened, "Given your mission, the brass don't want me lowering our chances with my 'emotional ties to the situation.' So the ship is yours. Pressly will be serving as your XO, so we have a full Alliance officer in a command position."

"History does seem to love repeating itself, doesn't it?"

With that, Udina departed, and Anderson followed after offering Harry a salute that he returned.

After that meeting, Harry went aboard and spent the next hour speaking with Pressly about the mission at hand and command of the Normandy. He was glad in a sense, Pressly was an experienced officer that knew his game. He had some issues left over from the First Contact War, but nothing that would impede the mission, he was too professional for that. Harry left him with the quartermaster's list, instructing him to obtain the supplies, along with an increased number of the dextro rations. Harry had then contacted Nihlus, appraising the turian of the change in command, and letting him know that he'd have the Normandy ready to go whenever they got a lead.

That led, of course to the list he'd wanted to give to Ashley, and Harry went down to the Captain's quarters for the next bit. Once he'd sealed the door, he reached into one of his belt pouches and pulled out a shrunken trunk. Having received the heads up from Admiral Hackett before the debacle on Eden Prime, Harry had packed away everything he'd need for an extended trip, sealing up his home back on Eden Prime.

Enlarging the trunk, he'd removed Dumbledore's pensieve from its depths and set it on the table. After nearly two centuries of ownership, he still hadn't been able to think of it as his after the headmaster had left it to him. One silvery memory and a long trip inside gave him the extensive list of mods, and before he packed the trunk and pensieve away, he'd removed the sheathed Sword of Gryffindor. Replacing the trunk in his pocket, Harry slung the blade across his back and beneath his robe, adjusting the straps for a proper fit.

The sword got him a few wary and curious looks as he left the cabin and headed down to the armory. Ashley was still there, but now she was outfitted in the armor he'd ordered, repainted in Alliance Blue. Harry was glad she'd gotten the note addressed to her, indicating her new equipment. In fact, as he looked down at the armory's table, he figured the rest of the packages had arrived, as a Crusader was currently disassembled and being checked over.

At his arrival, the marine stood up and jogged over, "This armor is awesome! Where'd you get it?" And cocking her hips, she gave him a light glare, "And just how did you know my measurements?"

Harry just chuckled and pointed at his eyes, long since corrected with eye surgery. The non magical world had made some incredible advancements, and he quietly suppressed the brief flash of anger, "Good eyes. How do the weapons check out?"

"The Crusaders and Vipers will need a bit of tuning. I don't know how to maintain the Graals or the Phaestrons, but I'm learning from the manuals. Everything else looks good. How'd you convince the Alliance to pay for this? Some of these are worth more than I make in a year!"

"Didn't. Bypassed the Alliance and just bought them myself."

"Oh. Wow. Damn. Can I get on your Christmas list?"

Harry's smile stayed firmly affixed, "Consider the armor a whole slew of missed birthdays." Unfastening the Predator and mag clip, and unloading the pistol, he held them out. Ashley just took them and automatically held out one of the Paladins and the holster. Harry checked and loaded it before strapping the holster onto his leg and placing the pistol inside. He then snagged one of the shield generators and attached it to the back of his belt.

"I wondered what all those were for. Do you think you got enough?" She just gestured to the nineteen left in the crate.

"Yeah, '_advanced biotics_' and technology don't mix well. It's why I can't use an omni-tool or credit chit. It's also probably why I'm terrible with computers. Give it a couple missions, and this shield will be unsalvageable. Hell, krogan ones are the only kind that last longer than a single mission." Offering the datapad he brought from the cabin to her, he kept speaking, "These are all the weapon and armor mods I can obtain. I want two lists. Give me the budget list- equipment you think we should reasonably have, and the shiny list- everything else you want but can't justify getting otherwise. Get enough to outfit all of our weapons. You've got a lot of work to do."

Ashley's eyes lit up as she looked over the list the way only a person who loves her job can, and she nodded at him, "Give me an hour and I'll have it figured out."

He nodded and turned to leave, but a laugh had him turning, and the marine continued, "A sword? Really Commander?"

Harry just smirked, "Sometimes guns and '_advanced biotics_' won't work. When all else fail, stab it with the pointy end until dead. Works like a charm." Feeling a twinge, Harry frowned momentarily, and addressed the browsing marine once more with a serious tone, "Stay in your armor, and ready a weapons loadout for you and Alenko. I've got a feeling that we'll be getting in a fight soon."

"What makes you say that?"

"These dusty old bones are creaking, that's what."

In truth, Harry was actually somewhat confused. And as he went up one level to pass the message on to Kaidan, his thoughts turned inwards as he tried to puzzle why. He was in fact getting that highly refined and oft used twitch in his bones that usually indicated a fight was about to erupt. However, he was also getting the no less refined, but far less used twitch in his bone that usually indicated sexy things were about to occur. It was most disconcerting.

With no further word from Nihlus, Harry had gone on a more complete tour of the Normandy, meeting the crew. He stuck around for a bit with Engineer Adams and listened to the veteran try to explain the ship's function. From what Harry gathered, the ship could turn invisible, only not invisible, because they put out heat that didn't put out heat.

Spaceships were weird.

Appropriately nodding and smiling at all the key moments, it wasn't until the end of his spiel that Adams called him on it. When Harry enthusiastically agreed, the old engineer just put his hand over his face, before simply stating that the Normandy was very hard to find, and they could only stay hidden for a while.

Harry asked why he didn't just say that in the first place. Adams may have taken slight offense to that.

His tour continued, and he met a number of the techs that ran the ship. Up in the mess, he found most of the marine detachment, including Jenkins, who'd been on the ground on Eden Prime. He stayed for a bit, chatting with the marines, getting to know them. Ashley came up right when he was spinning a few stories, and managed to hear him once more proclaiming the virtues of his hat. After telling the marines that the hat was a lie, she joined them in the mess, handing him a datapad listing the mods she'd looked over. Harry was wounded, and quickly moved to defend the honor of his hat, but after a while he left the marines to themselves, and continued on. The third shift personnel were asleep in the pods, so he went up to the CIC.

He chatted for a bit with the techs on shift running the ship before heading up to the cockpit. He'd yet to fully meet the infamous Joker, and had been looking forward to it. As a fellow connoisseur in the ways of the sarcasm, Harry was intrigued.

Walking up behind the pilot, he cleared his throat to get his attention. Joker turned his head to look, but otherwise didn't react, "Commander, something you need?"

"Just getting to know the crew. How's the Normandy doing?"

"She's the best ship in the fleet…if you've got a pilot who knows how to handle her. Balance isn't what you'd expect. Takes a while to get used to that oversized drive core we got stuffed in the back and her power can sneak up on you if you're not careful." He turned to face the screens, pride clear in his tone, "The Normandy's probably too much for your average Alliance pilot, Commander. Lucky for you, I'm anything but average."

"Happy to hear she's in good hands, then. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

The pilot scoffed, frustration seeping into his voice, "I can see where this is going, you did a background check on me, didn't you? Well I'll tell you the same thing I told the Captain. You _want_ me as your pilot. I'm not good. I'm not even great. I'm the best damn helmsman in the Alliance fleet. Top of my class in Flight School? I earned that. All those commendations in my file? I earned every single one. Those weren't given to me as…_charity_ for my disease."

Harry held up his hand and just _looked_ intently at the helmsman, freezing him in place, "All I've read is a crew roster. What kind of disease are we talking about here, anyway?"

"You mean? You mean you didn't know. Oh, crap. Okay, I've got Vrolik Syndrome. Brittle Bone Disease? The bones in my legs never developed properly, they're basically hollow, too much force and they'll shatter. Even with crutches and my leg-braces it's hard to get around. One wrong step and _crack!_ It's all very dramatic. But I've learned to manage my condition, Commander. Put the Normandy in my hands and I'll make her dance for you. Just don't ask me to get up and dance unless, you know, you like the sound of snapping shin bones. You don't like the sound of snapping bones, by chance, do you? 'Cause that would be really awkward. And painful."

"Only my enemies. Nothing sweeter, except perhaps the lamentations of their women, but I suppose that's something of an acquired taste."

"Yeah I'm gonna go out on a branch here and say you're already the creepiest commander I've served with."

Harry just shrugged, "I'm guessing since you're assigned here, it's not an issue when on duty?"

"Yeah, it's not like I fly with my feet. Might break a bone getting up to take a piss, but hell, this is an Alliance warship. It's not like they give us cupholders or leather seats."

"I'll check requisitions. They're probably bogged down with the elbow grease and golden unicorns."

Joker just appraised him with an approving look on his face, "You know? I think we're gonna get along just fine. Think we can get some small woodland animals to sing us a ditty in celebration?"

"I can probably rustle up a ferret or three."

Leaving the pilot to his routine, Harry left the Normandy and made his way up to the Spectre Offices once more. Hoping that he was in fact allowed in, and not just with Nihlus as an escort, Harry walked into the long corridor of scanners. Fortunately, no hidden guns popped out at him, and he felt safe enough. Walking over to the console, Harry began the tedious process of trying to sort out the various mods and add-ons as necessary or not. There were all sorts of things, however, ammo blocks and advanced scopes, thermal capacity modifiers and medical interfaces, and a number of other things that Harry didn't even know what to do with. Giving up after a few minutes, he just added everything on both lists and started to pay as before, offering a bonus if they were delivered immediately. Sometimes it was just plain fun being rich.

* * *

With that, Harry was out of ideas of things to pass the time. As this was his second visit to the Citadel, he felt no burning desire to explore, and headed back to the Normandy. He walked down and entered the Captain's cabin once more, sealing the door. Taking his trunk out, he enlarged it again and carefully pulled out the only painting within. Setting it on the table, he sat down in the chair and took in the occupant. Despite being repainted every year before her death, she still looked as though she was in the prime of her life.

She was pretending to be asleep, and Harry grinned to himself, "Hello love." The occupant smiled, but didn't awaken, and rolled over on the painted bed, "I know you're pretending. You snore."

While she didn't appear to wake, her voice came out strong and indignant, "I do not!"

"It's okay, I won't let the scrimjackers know. Your hair is safe."

"Promise?"

"On my hat, love."

"And you're sure it's safe to come out?"

"I'm on a ship filled with crewmembers, so probably not."

"They aren't near you, are they?"

"We're alone. I would normally be ravishing you now, but I haven't perfected my life-to-painting copulation yet."

"Well you should. My hand's getting tired, you know."

Well, Harry knew how to get her attention, "I saw a snorkack today."

Luna sat up immediately, her painted eyes alight, "And did you catch it? Was it the crumple horned?"

"No, sadly. And I couldn't quite get my hand on it, but someday."

"He can't elude you forever, dear. You'll get it someday. I'm positive."

Well that was new! After so long, new things were always interesting, "Aha! So it _is_ a him isn't it?"

She blushed, chagrined, "You weren't supposed to know that."

"So! How do you know it's a him?"

"His mating songs. Terribly masculine. He has a lovely singing voice." Here she stood up off the bed and walked over to the chair, sitting down and leaning forward, her legs swinging back and forth, "So! What's happened now? What did General What's-his-face want?"

Harry just gave her a sad grin, wincing, "Well, it turns out he needed someone with just my skillset."

Her eyes widened, and she became distracted by her eyelashes for a moment before exclaiming, "Well you are a cunning linguist, dear. It's no wonder they'd want you to pacify the rampaging veela hordes."

"Unfortunately, it's for my vast experience as a political sacrifice."

"Well that doesn't sound nearly as fun. Why'd you accept?"

"And who says I accepted?"

"I did, didn't you hear me? You probably ought to go get your hearing checked. You might have a jorbal infestation, and I'm not there to suck out the poison anymore."

"I haven't been seeing any chinchillas recently. No, the reason I accepted was something far better. Something extraordinary. Something possibly equal in status to pudding." Luna had scooted closer to the edge of her chair with each part, and was practically bouncing at the last one, "_I have become James Bond!_"

"Which one?"

"You know which one."

She squealed, throwing her arms up, and he continued, "Yep. I am now a super-secret Spectre spy. I have carte blanche to do whatever the hell I want to. Legally."

"Go get a snorkack! Now, before they realize you're on to them! Oh, wait! Does this mean I'm your Bond girl?"

"Absolutely. You're also my only Bond girl, so don't get any ideas."

"You're no fun."

Harry sighed, "It's not all kettles and oranges, though. There was an attack on the colony before I left. It was all appropriately spacey: robots, zombies, a giant starship that looked like a squid with giant metal tentacles."

"Maybe you should add that to the next issue. Starship on starship tentacle porn. There's someone out there furiously masturbating to it."

Harry just rubbed his jaw, "The idea certainly has potential."

Luna shrugged, "It's all about finding the right market. And if the galaxy is demanding spaceship on spaceship tentacle banging, who are we to protest?"

Harry settled back, his thoughts turning inward, "I had another vision. Another _ancient beacon of unspeakable evil_. I think there's an evil-guy store selling them somewhere."

Luna zeroed in on him with frightening intensity, "You're going to try and save the galaxy, aren't you?"

Harry just sighed and spread his arms, "If I don't who will? You know me, love. Can't stay away from a damsel in distress, even if that damsel is shaped like billions of star systems."

Luna just scuffed her toe, and grumbled out, "Ruddy saving people thing."

Harry just grinned sardonically back at the anxious painting of his wife, "Yep, horrible thing. Turns on whenever I don't need it, Immediately flips off whenever I do."

Luna just sat down, her eyes sad, but a tiny smirk growing on her face, "You know what turning on and flipping off both have in common, don't you?"

Harry knew the answer to that one without even asking, "Pancakes and sex."

"Do you still have your maple syrup on you?"

Harry just patted one of the pouches on his belt, and Luna smiled, reassured. At that smile, Harry felt a bout of nostalgia forming in the pit of his belly. His shoulders slumping, he caught Luna's gaze, "I miss you."

"I know."

Harry frowned, and yet he felt the cold pit in his stomach recede, "You're not Han Solo. I'm Han Solo. You're my Princess Leia."

"Only in the right outfit." Her face lit up and she bounced over to the trunk at the foot of her painted bed. "Ooh! We haven't played that one in a while, which should I be? The commandobassador? Or the sultry slave girl?"

"Sorry love, I'll have to take a rain-check. I'm currently supposed to be waiting for word on a top secret mission. I could be called to the front at any time. It's all very dashing and perilous. And commandobassador. I know you like letting the twins roam free."

"Damn straight! Come back safe?"

"You know me."

Harry spent the next hour chatting with the painting, catching her up on everything that had happened. She'd approved of the Normandy, and had suggested he get some tight pants and a brown coat. Harry retorted that his pants were already tight, and he was wearing a brown robe. Continuing, he had told her about the crew on board, and before long, Harry's communicator began buzzing. Apologizing to her, he poked it and hoped for the best. Fortunately, luck was with him today, and the comm didn't explode, instead simply beginning to emit Nihlus' voice.

"Shepard. I think we have something. Meet me at the C-Sec headquarters on the Presidium. Bring the marines. Better safe than sorry."

"On my way. And safe? In our line of work? Boring." Turning it off, he bid farewell to Luna before repacking the painting and the trunk. Absently, he wondered if he would get to do actual super spy stuff. That would be neat.

* * *

Author's Notes: Next time, we finish up the Citadel and finally get some action! (I know some of you have probably been waiting) We'll meet some new friends (who may have very familiar faces…or visors) and then we're off on the hunt for that dastardly bastard.

Now, part of writing fanfiction is getting to alter the game's events to your desired outcome. So yes, I'm picking these particular armors because they make the most sense to me story-wise and practicality-wise. Both Kaidan and Ashley (now, at least) are in their ME3 outfits, the Alliance Blue armor. That may change as the story progresses, but this is where I want them to start. Garrus is in his ME2 blue armor, though it is undamaged; a remnant of his time in the Turian military. Wrex will be starting with the Mercenary Armor you first meet him in. Nihlus is using his Phantom. Tali will be in her ME1 configuration for the duration of the ME1 storyline, as her armor improvements have cultural implications. Liara will be upgraded from the start, she'll be wearing the ME3 white lab coat/armor. Let's face it, if Benezia (before indoctrination) had known that Liara would be going out to explore far-flung archaeological sites, she would have made sure Liara had decent equipment, and that outfit is recognizably science-y.


	4. Chapter 4: The Citadel: Part 3

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Mass Effect nor their affiliated bits and pieces are my property. The lucky people who do own them are J.K. Rowling and both Bioware and EA, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.

Author's Note: Just a quick note, folks. As college is once again picking up with finals on the horizon, I'm going to be very busy studying my ass off. So updates over the next couple weeks will be slower and more sporadic. Rest assured, they'll keep coming, but I do have to focus on my schoolwork. Fanfiction is simply a fun distraction from that.

* * *

The Green Eyed Spectre

Chapter 4: The Citadel: Part 3

* * *

**Citadel**

The three armed and armored humans strolled into C-Sec Headquarters, looking for the turian Spectre. Before long, two of the officers on guard duty had jogged over, stopping and addressing them, "I'm sorry sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to relinquish your firearms and step i-"

"That's enough." Nihlus' voice came from above them, leaning over the railing on a crisscrossing bridge, "They're here on my orders. Shepard, get up here."

They progressed unhindered, and joined the two turians in the room. Datapads were littered about along with a few thin-stemmed glasses filled with something that smelled sweet and spicy. Nihlus just sat against the table, crossing his arms as the other turian came forward and offered his taloned hand to Harry. He was younger than Nihlus, wearing a tough, blue hardsuit and bearing blue colony markings across his face. He also had a blue visor attached to his eye, and Harry was beginning to guess what his favorite color was, "Detective Garrus Vakarian, sir. Pleased to meet you."

Harry shook it, and gestured to his companions, "Spectre-Commander Harry Shepard. This is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams."

Nihlus started at his introduction, "Spectre-Commander Shepard?"

Harry shrugged, "If they're going to give me two titles, I'm going to arrange them how I want to." He smiled at the glaring turian, "Besides, I thought you'd be pleased. I did put the 'Spectre' first, you know. Place of pride and all that."

"From now on and until you're fully recognized, use Commander alone. Vakarian, while you aren't bound by oath to secrecy, I would be very displeased to hear that knowledge of Shepard's status spread from your mouth."

Vakarian audibly gulped, "Yes sir! Of course sir!"

Nihlus stood fully up and took in everyone's gaze before beginning, "Unfortunately, the vast majority of Saren's activities in the recent past have been completely legitimate. We have only two possible leads into his more clandestine activities. The first is Barla Von, he's a volus who occasionally deals for the Shadow Broker. If anyone is going to have information, it'll be him. The second is a quarian spotted recently on the Citadel. Supposedly she has been asking around about Saren, and claims to have some sort of intel. Shepard, thoughts?"

Harry stepped forward, frowning and crossing his arms, "The most recent confirmed location on the quarian? And do they have a name?"

"We don't know her name, but she's been seen around the wards, and was confirmed to be present in a Clinic owned by a Dr. Michel."

"And Barla Von, do you know him?"

"I've dealt with him in the past, yes. He's annoying, but generally straightforward."

"Then why don't you take Vakarian and go talk to him, see what he knows. I'll take Alenko and Ashley, go visit the doctor and see if we can track down this quarian. If you find anything mission-critical, contact us. Otherwise, we'll rendezvous back on the Normandy."

Nihlus' mandibles flexed, and he nodded at the detective, "Take Vakarian with you as well. I know how to handle Barla Von, and you may need the extra eyes for your search."

Harry nodded and the four left. Vakarian had asked Harry to just call him Garrus, and Harry had pointedly glared at Kaidan. The detective had taken one of the C-Sec aircars, flying them over to the wards. A short trip later had the four approaching a small clinic near the markets, but not all was well.

The squad could hear the frantic pleading as they drew close to the doctor's office. Drawing and readying their weapons, and in Harry's case wand and weapon, the squad flanked the door. At Harry's nod, Garrus toggled it and followed Harry in, both taking aim. Ashley and Kaidan both waited outside in the event of an ambush, but kept one eye on the room in case they were needed. Suddenly, the man with the visor caught sight of them, and grabbed the doctor, aiming his pistol and shouting, "_Who are you?_"

As both Harry and Garrus took aim, the man shifted, and Garrus broke to the side, firing. The round hit squarely on the man's head, and Dr. Michel sank screaming to the floor, released from his hold. Harry swore and dove forward over the counter, casting a nonverbal _Urto_ as he did. The spell flew forth, causing the lights to dim, and the screens and equipment around them to spark and fizzle, but also causing the two thugs to be thrown violently against the wall behind them. Harry landed and rolled, coming up and aiming the Paladin at the two dazed, but recovering, men. The pistol barked as it fired, and the shots quickly took down both of the men's shields before killing the men themselves.

Kaidan and Ashley entered, securing the door. Garrus had moved forward to help Dr. Michel to her feet, and as soon as he had, Harry grabbed the cowl of his armor and slammed him into the wall, "_What the hell was that?_"

"I had th-"

He kept hold of the cowl and dragged him down until their faces were close and level, "You _do not_ fire upon a man with a hostage for a shield unless you can _absolutely_ confirm that you will make the shot. I had other options to resolve this before you went solo."

"But Dr. Michel's alright!"

Harry pulled back, his voice softening but losing none of the ice, "I understand that. But there were other ways without the risk. As long as you serve under me, you do the job right or you get your scaly ass off my squad. Clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Provided you're still around, we'll talk later. For now, the mission comes first." Harry released him, and the turian stood in place. The Spectre turned to the doctor and addressed her, "Doctor Michel, are you alright?"

"Ye-yes. They shouted a lot, but hadn't hurt me."

Ashley stepped over to the doctor, and Kaidan bent down over the bodies to inspect them. Garrus joined the Lieutenant in looking for clues, and Harry continued, "I understand you're scared, but we need to know what's going on. We had reports of a quarian with intel who came here, do you know where she is?"

The doctor seemed to draw strength from having something to focus on, and her voice came out stronger, "Yes, she came in here with a gunshot wound. I treated it, and asked her how she got it. She said that she needed to contact the Shadow Broker, so I told her that Fist could. But then these men came, saying they were working _for_ the Shadow Broker! I don't understand it!"

Garrus inhaled, and as Harry turned to him, he could see the turian's eyes widening and mandibles flexing, "Fist isn't working for the Shadow Broker anymore, he left him to work for Saren. Found that out while looking for him."

Kaidan spoke up, "Then our quarian is walking into a trap. Where is Fist located?"

"A bar nearby, Chora's Den. It's a front for his activities, but we haven't been able to prove it."

Harry just nodded, "Then that's where we need to be. Dr. Michel, is there somewhere you can stay in the meantime, somewhere safe?"

"Yes, I know a place that should be safe."

Garrus brought up his omni-tool and began typing, "Give me the address, and I'll have a couple uniforms come by as a security detail and to clean this up."

* * *

**Citadel**

Harry and the others left, passing a pair of C-Sec Officers who were running up. Garrus hurriedly explained and then led the squad further into the wards. A number of twists and turns later found them staring across an aircar underpass, the paths above leading to a dingy door in the wall. It was the neon-illuminated asari dancer on the wall that clued Harry in to what kind of bar it was. Silently, he actually relaxed a bit. His instincts weren't going crazy, then.

Just as they crossed into the cavernous room, a large group of turians hanging out in front of the club suddenly broke apart and drew weapons. The squad leapt behind the low railing as Harry shouted, "Cover!"

Harry turned to Kaidan and Garrus, speaking even as weapons fire began to impact all around them, "I'm going to pop around behind them and get their attention. Hit them while they're distracted!"

Garrus had a confused look on his face, "And just ho-" But Harry didn't hear the rest, having apparated behind enemy turians. He let out a sigh of relief as effects were limited to dimming the lights and causing the giant neon asari to begin sparking and fading out. Looking up, however, eyes trained to Seek quickly caught the grenade flying at him from over where his squad was. They widened and he reflexively cast an _Urto_ at it. Cursing, he dove away just as the magic wave of force hit the explosive. The grenade burst in a flash of heat and light, the neon asari suddenly exploded as well, and the lights above the room all died, plunging both sides into darkness. Not pitch blackness, fortunately, as Harry could still see the faint outline of the turians reacting to the grenade, some of them having been thrown back.

Setting about distracting the enemies, he called out, "Oy! Now is not the time to play hot grenade-oh!"

A weak sorry came from Ashley as the squad took out three of the ruffians, and the ruffians themselves spun about, trying to find him. With his magic likely to cause even worse issues, Harry resheathed his wand and pulled out both his Paladin and the Sword of Gryffindor. Two of the turians were searching for him, but the other four were still concentrating their fire on his squad, who fired back when they could. A sniper round tore by, eliminating one of the turians searching for him, and Harry advanced to the closest one, silently plunging the blade into the gap between his fringe and the back of his armor. Withdrawing it and spinning away as the turian fell gasping to the ground, Harry extended the blade, decapitating his first victim's companion.

Another flurry of fire tore through from his squad, and Harry retreated as the turians went from searching for him to firing at the marines, who were on their own. Harry's eyes flitted about, and soon spotted the faint light of Garrus' visor tucked away in a corner. He heard the crack and this time, saw the muzzle flash as another sniper round killed one of the turians. With only two left, Harry began to fire the Paladin from his position, drawing the pair's attention and fire. His shield held out against the few rounds that found him, and before long, his own fire broke through and eliminated one of the two. The last one was suddenly yanked into the air, courtesy of Kaidan's biotics, and one final crack echoed in the room as Garrus killed him.

In the calm that followed, the squad began scanning for any more enemies, but found none and moved to join him. The three were halfway across the pathways when the lights flickered a few times before turning on once more. Garrus was staring intently at Harry, and the wizard just shook his head, "Answers come later, missions come first."

The turian nodded and then went to examine the fallen adversaries. After a moment, he gave a startled cry, "These are Saren's men. Same colony markings and identifiers."

Grateful that none of the bar's patrons had come out, Harry began heading for the door, "Then we have to move fast. Let's go." Garrus nodded and brought up his omni-tool once more, signaling for C-Sec backup personnel.

Harry walked into the club and took in the view. It was a large circle, with a counter surrounding the large stage filled with dancing asari. Looking around, he took in the patrons in the alcoves: some drinking, others partaking of the dancer's services.

Ashley spoke up as she followed him in, "A million light years from where humanity began and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't decide if that's funny or sad."

Kaidan was quick to retort, but even he had a slightly glazed look on his face, "What? You don't think they're here because of the food? I for one can see why this place is so popular. It's got quite the, uh, view."

"Better put that tongue back in your mouth before you trip on it, Lieutenant."

Harry just grinned, happy to have gained more ammunition with which to taunt the biotic, "Oh, it's funny alright. Just goes to show you that the more things change, the more they stay the same." He walked on, around the bar and towards the passageway leading to the back. Pausing for a minute, he took in the young krogan guard, and the old, scarred one threatening him. Closing in, he could hear the tail end of the conversation.

"Well, what are you waiting for? This is Fist's last chance, if he's wise, he'll take it." Well, perhaps they'd have an unlikely ally. This could get interesting.

"He's not coming out Wrex. End of story."

"This story's just beginning." He turned to leave and was about to shove past Harry when he took in the wizard, "Out of my way, I have no quarrel with you."

So this was Urdnot Wrex. He'd heard of the mercenary, few hadn't heard one of the stories, but he'd never met him. Harry caught the krogan's shoulder, "But you do with Fist. Perhaps we can come to an agreement."

The krogan stopped, looking the squad over, a calculating gleam in his eyes, "I'm listening."

"We need to talk with Fist, and won't be taking no for an answer. You?"

"Blood for betrayal."

"Awfully forthcoming of you."

Wrex laughed, a deep grating sound, "I wasn't paid for my silence. I know you, Shepard. We're both warriors. Let me kill Fist, and I'll let you speak with him first."

Harry extended his hand, and Wrex shook it. The five then approached the krogan guard, who looked decidedly more nervous. Harry was succinct and to the point, "Move and you live. Stay and…well, that's another matter."

The krogan appeared to consider, and then shrugged his shoulders, stepping aside, "Fist isn't paying me enough to die."

Garrus just cocked his head, "I woulda never thought of that."

Wrex just grinned toothily at the detective, "More to combat than killing, runt."

Stepping past, the squad reached the inner door, and opening it, a pair of workers recoiled, reaching for their sidearms. The squad had theirs out even faster, and Harry just smirked, "I really wouldn't if I were you."

They lowered their pistols, and just stepped out into the main club silently. Harry led the others further in, and the squad paused near the door. Readying their weapons, Harry toggled the controls, bursting in with Wrex on his heels.

Fist had taken cover behind his desk, and the squad took in the pair of automated turrets flanking him. The squad took cover as the turrets lit up, Harry and Wrex leaping forward to the far side of the office and taking cover in the alcove there. Immediately, they began firing, whittling down the turrets' shielding until they cracked, and then wrecking the turrets themselves. Fist recoiled as the explosions knocked him to the ground, wounding him. The squad raced forward, scanning for any more tricks.

Fist lay gasping and Harry just reholstered his Paladin, grabbing the man and dragging him up to his feet, "Normally I wouldn't be doing this, but I get the feeling we're out of time." At that, he locked eyes with the club owner and silently cast a _Legilimens_. Fist's mind was a torrent of memories and emotions, and Harry tore through it, searching for the quarian. He found a recent memory, one of Fist setting her up to be taken by Saren's men. Continuing to scan for a moment, he got a feel for the sort of man Fist was.

Withdrawing, Harry let him fall to the floor, groaning in pain, "_Slavers_. I _hate_ slavers. Wrex? I'm good."

The old krogan just raised his shotgun at the recovering man, "The Shadow Broker sends his regards." He fired, and Fist's upper body was reduced to a fine mist of blood and viscera.

Harry turned to Garrus, "Check his terminal, get what you need to shut down his operation, fast." Garrus just began tapping his omni-tool quickly and the terminal lit up. Harry turned to the others, "Fist set the quarian up, she's going to meet a cadre of Saren's men. We need to move, it's close by."

Wrex just nodded in Harry's direction, "My contract's complete. Need another gun?"

"Always welcome, pay?"

"Five thousand credits to help you rescue the quarian, after that we're good."

"Done. Garrus?"

"Got it all, let's go."

The squad left the office, weapons still at the ready. There was no telling what lay ahead, and as they opened the door to the club proper, a wave of gunfire greeted them. Harry just shouted, "Great, more idiots. Kaidan, Wrex, clear us a path to some cover." Both lit up their biotics, Kaidan sending out a wave of force that knocked the three mercs in the hallway backwards before Wrex's Warp detonated the field, ending the threat they posed, permanently.

The squad advanced, taking cover at the door and scattered crates. There were a good thirty gunmen arrayed against them, taking cover behind overturned tables, the counter, even the occasional chair. Harry took it in before ordering, "Target those behind the bar. Once they're gone or fewer, we take it for ourselves, clear?" The squad began trading fire with those they could see, switching out with other members between the door's edge and deeper cover to reload and recharge their shields. Around them, the walls began to be riddled with holes, but they held for now, and the squad kept up their fire, slowly whittling down the guards.

Tapping Ashley on the back, the marine switched places with him, and Harry looked out from the door's edge. A few of the guards to the sides had been killed, but the majority were still out there, firing more cautiously now. The ones behind the bar, however, were dead to a man, and Harry got the squad's attention, "Alright, on my signal, we make for the counter. I'll take point and make sure it's clear. Wrex, Kaidan, right after me, toss a Throw to each side to distract them. Garrus, Ashley, you're last, move your asses. On my signal." Harry then withdrew his sword and began listening to the sounds of the fire pouring in, when it slowed for a moment, he cried, "_Go!_" and leapt forward towards the counter. More gunfire rained out, splashing across his shield, and he heard the cries as both of the biotics' Throws caused chaos. Vaulting the counter, he took in the salarian hiding below the lip. Before the guard could even cry out, Harry impaled him in the chest, the envenomed blade instantly doing its grisly work in the high-metabolic environment. He moved around the central pillar, making sure it was clear as the biotic marine and the krogan cleared the counter and moved aside as well. Garrus and Ashley were last, taking some fire, but not enough to crack their shields, and they too joined the squad behind the counter.

With that, the squad moved to circle the central pillar, firing out at all sides, and quickly killing a few of the guards whose cover had been oriented towards the doorway. With five of them there, it didn't take long, as one could drop down to reload and recharge while the two next to them could take up the slack. In minutes, they'd eliminated all but the last ones, and Kaidan and Wrex began systematically Throwing and Pulling them out of cover. Mopping the remainder up was quick, and after they scanned the area, the squad left cover, making for the door and the alley Harry had seen in Fist's mind.

Racing into the darkened hall, the squad paused as they dropped into cover, taking in the scene before them. The quarian was on her own, staring defiantly at the slim turian meeting her, "Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?"

The turian reached out, running a hand along her arm and shoulder, "He'll be here. Where's the data?"

The quarian knocked it away, "No way. The deal's off." She turned a bit, taking in the pair of salarians who'd left the corner, beginning to approach her. Suddenly, she leapt to the side, tossing a grenade at them and taking what cover she could get behind a crate.

The grenade exploded, sending the salarians flying, and as the turian and his men began firing, Harry and the others leapt into the fray. Gunfire and biotics flew out, catching Saren's men by surprise, and scattering them. In moments it was over, the squad's superior firepower having overwhelmed what defenses they could muster and taken them out.

Harry paused in the middle of the alley, taking in the quarian cautiously stepping out of cover. She was young, and her suit and the cloth above it were patched and a bit dirty. When the rest of the squad put away their weapons, she came out and approached him, her eyes narrowed in anger, "Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!"

Harry just held up his hand, "Fist's not an issue any more. We made sure of that."

"Then I guess I have two things to thank you for, but, who are you?"

"I'm Commander Shepard, sort of with the Alliance and sort of with the Council. I understand you have some information regarding Saren Arterius, that right?"

"Yes, I ha…I probably shouldn't talk about it here, but yes. My name is Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

* * *

**SSV-Normandy**

The squad had retreated to the Normandy. Tali having introduced herself, the squad was quickly being won over by the girl's bubbly personality. It seemed the intel was an audio recording, though she wouldn't say any more. Garrus had called C-Sec, explaining the situation, and giving the excuse of Nihlus' orders, which had been processed and approved. Apparently the Spectre had temporarily transferred the young detective to his personal command. Harry had convinced Kaidan to set up a direct transfer to Wrex using his omni-tool, and the old krogan had just nodded and insisted on tagging along.

When Harry asked why, the wily Battlemaster had just replied in a gravelly tone, "Sort of with the Alliance, sort of with the Council, huh? That'd make you a Spectre." Harry just grinned at the old krogan, and Wrex returned it, showing far more and larger teeth than Harry did, "A storm's coming, and you and Saren are right in the middle of it. Should be one hell of a fight; I want in. No charge."

"Well then, glad to have you aboard, Wrex."

The rest of the trip had been calm, and when they reached the docking bay, Nihlus was there to greet them, "So, Shepard. What's this I hear about an assault on Chora's Den that I authorized?"

Harry just scratched his head, "I would have used my own authorization, but figured it would be better not to reveal it. We've got the quarian, Tali'Zorah. She's got some intel on Saren, but we wanted to wait 'til we were in a secure area before listening to it." Harry had gestured towards where the girl had been, but noting her absence, spun to locate her. Apparently at the sight of the Normandy, she'd leapt over to the railing and was babbling excitedly to herself about all the neat technological things she could see. Harry had calmly got her attention, causing a blush to appear on her face. At least he thought it had, but he couldn't quite tell with the helmet. Absently, he wondered why she was wearing it. There was something about quarians, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

As the squad moved forward into the Normandy, Harry hung back and signaled to Wrex to do the same. With them at the back of the group walking through the Normandy towards the briefing room, Harry addressed him, "Wanted to give you a heads up. I get the feeling that this mission's going to turn this squad into a real team, probably more. I need you as my second, 'cause Nihlus will be doing his own thing, and if I'm out of the fight, you're the best chance any of them have at getting out alive. You in?"

"Don't see why I should…"

"I'm going to use a krogan term, and hope I don't screw it up. When I fight, my squad becomes my family, my kraant. I'd die to defend them, and I'm asking you to lead them if I fall in battle."

"You'd die to defend them? Make their fights your own? Stand side by side, facing unending hordes in battle? Your brothers-in-arms?"

"In a heartbeat. I don't particularly care for the Alliance or the Council, Saren just needs to die. But my family. That. That I care about."

A craggy grin began to crawl across the krogan's face, "Well, that's a different story. You're gonna piss of a bunch of people, you know."

"Feh, like I've never done that before."

"Fine. I'll watch over your kraant, whelp."

Harry just nodded and continued walking for the briefing room. It was a circular room in the middle of the Normandy, eight seats arranged around the middle, with a large vidscreen dominating the back. The squad took seats while Harry stood near the screen emitters. "First things first, Garrus, Tali, Wrex, welcome aboard the Normandy. Now, Tali, you have some intel? Mind telling us what it is and how you got it?"

The quarian sat forward, and began speaking, gesturing with her arms, "It's an audio recording with Saren in it. You see, I was on my pilgrimage. My right of passage into adulthood. During my travels, I began hearing reports of geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious." She paused for a moment, apparently gathering her thoughts, "I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then I disabled it and removed its memory core."

Nihlus interjected, "I thought the geth fried their memory cored when they died? Some kind of defense mechanism…"

"My people created the geth. If you're quick, careful, and lucky small caches of memory can sometimes be saved. Most of the core was wiped clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks." Here she brought up her omni-tool and began tapping it. It began flashing, and a short conversation began.

"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."

Harry just nodded, "That's Saren alright, but what's the Conduit?"

Tali just shook her head, "Wait…there's more. Saren wasn't working alone." She tapped a few more times, and the recording replayed.

"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

Nihlus started, his mandibles flaring, "I recognize that voice. Matriarch Benezia. She's definitely up there in the asari political hierarchy. I wonder what she's doing with Saren…"

"Know anything else about her?"

Nihlus shrugged, "She's a modernist, wants to drag the asari forward into greater power, though not by military means unless it proves necessary. Flagged as a potential threat to the balance of power, but not an imminent or high ranking one. Hasn't been terribly active in recent years, but she's a powerful voice on their own council. Has a daughter. One, I think. I can get more on her, might be another with Saren, might not."

"I'm getting a strange sense of déjà vu. The Reapers sound familiar. Nihlus, anything on them or the Conduit?"

"Haven't a clue. Neither one is on any report in my memory."

Tali got their attention, speaking up, "According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed fifty thousand years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they vanished! At least, that's what the Geth believe…"

Harry smiled, and snapped his fingers, though not the particular ones that switched his battlerobes with whatever he was wearing, "The beacon on Eden Prime. That's what it was. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers."

Tali looked confused, but continued regardless, "The geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back."

"Well, that probably won't be good for the rest of the galaxy. I guessing this 'Conduit' is some sort of key to bringing them back."

The biotic marine was skeptical, "You really think the geth are trying to bring back some ancient super robot killers?"

"With my luck? It's more likely than not. Better to plan on it, just to be on the safe side."

Wrex's rumbling voice cut in, "And what about the quarian?"

"My name is Tali!" She wrung her hands together for a moment before looking at Harry, "You saw me in the alley, Commander, you know what I can do. Let me come with you!"

"What about your pilgrimage?"

"The pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?"

"It proves that you are willing to stand up for your _own_ beliefs, not just those of your superiors and mentors." The quarian's shoulders slumped, and Harry continued, "It'd also probably show you as a coward, but I don't think that's the case. You certain you want in?"

She perked up, "Yes, Commander! If I can help out, I want to."

"Good, we'll find you a spot then, but you might have to share with Wrex." The quarian recoiled, alternately looking between Harry and the massive krogan. "Sarcasm, kid. The Normandy uses sleeper pods. No sharing, unless you're into that sort of thing."

Here Nihlus cleared his throat and caught Harry's gaze, "On that note, I've got a bit more news. Vakarian. I'm transferring you to Shepard's command. You'll be taking your orders from him from here on out."

Harry looked intently at the Spectre, and the turian nodded in response, "Well then, I guess my collection's off to a good start. Got four of the major races, let's see if I can snag the rest. Now, before we all head off, there's something I need to clear up. I'm sure some of you have questions about me and my '_advanced biotics._'"

Here Ashley, Kaidan, and Garrus leaned forward. Nihlus cocked his head, but otherwise didn't react.

"Well, the truth is terribly terrible. It may surprise you to learn that I am not, in fact, a biotic. Restrain your shock and awe, please." At their clear signs of restraint, or at least impatience, Harry continued, "In fact, what I am is something called a wizard. As in a magician. As in a sorcerer. As in a purveyor of the darkest, blackest, moste evil of the arts known to man."

This time they reacted. The aliens didn't terribly care, though Nihlus seemed far more interested. Wrex looked bored, and Tali was confused, but Kaidan and Ashley made up for the rest. The biotic was staring unbelievingly, his mouth open at what must sound like the silliest excuse.

Ashley, on the other hand, had burst into raucous laughter, clutching her sides, "You're kidding! Next you'll tell me you fly around on a magic broom."

"Hey! Don't knock it 'til you try it. My Thunderbolt was top of the line a while back, had a top speed near three hundred miles per hour!" Her laughter died down, and she joined Kaidan in staring disbelievingly.

"Yeah, there's the usual reaction. Well, they say seeing is believing, so here." Harry calmly withdrew his trunk from his pocket. The squad looked on in interest and disbelief, expressions that changed as soon as he took out his wand and tapped it, enlarging it back to normal. Ignoring their sputtering cries, he opened it up and reached inside, drawing out Luna's portrait and resting it up against the vid screen emitters, closing the trunk.

She was frozen in place, posing, a disturbing grin on her face.

"Okay, the trunk was weird, but what the hell is the painting supposed to do? Who is that, anyway?"

"That's my wife, of course. Luna, don't be rude. If you keep making faces at them, they'll convince themselves it was a trick of the light."

Suddenly she moved, leaping back onto the bed and bouncing before resting on her belly, her head on her arms. The squad lurched back, but didn't otherwise react, and Luna upped her game, "Awww. I was hoping someone would try to drown me and prove I'm not a witch. You lot aren't any fun. Harry? Can you take these ones and return them?"

"No credit back guarantee. I think I'm stuck with them."

"What the hell is that supposed to be?"

Luna sniffed at the Gunnery Chief's question, "I have a name, you know. Inconsiderate. I'm Luna Potter. I used to be Luna Lovegood, but I changed it you see." She then held up a hand to her mouth as though sharing a secret, "I didn't really change you know, I'm still quite good at love."

Harry just grinned, "And how!"

Kaidan just pointed at him, "So you're r-"

Harry interrupted, "Yep!"

The biotic moved his finger to point at the painting, "And she's-"

Another interjection, "You bet!"

Tali just spoke up quietly, "If she's a Potter. Does that mean you're a Potter? Or is that the planet she's from or something?"

"Right. Totally forgot about that. My mistake, how unfortunate you pointed it out." Despite his words, the smile on Harry's face seemed to reassure the quarian that she wasn't in trouble. "I suppose I ought to properly introduce myself."

Luna just squealed from her bed, "Ooh! The titles! Do the titles!"

He just pouted at her, "Do I _have_ to?"

Luna just crossed her arms, "If you don't, I'll be very cross. You'll have to stop eating treacle tart for a whole week."

Well that was horrible! His wife was so mean to him. Sulking, he turned to the rest of the crew, "_Fine_. It seems as I've grown older that I've acquired quite a number of titles, and I now know just what my old Headmaster felt like." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Spectre, Staff Commander, and Former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lord Harry James Potter, codenamed Shepard, Order of Merlin, First Class, and the Master of Death, at your service." He just leapt out of the slump as though he'd never been sad and continued, "I'm also known as the One and Only Pa-"

Luna shouted out from her painting, wagging her finger at him, "Ah, ah! None of that in front of the young'uns!"

"Fine, fine. Just call me Shepard, or Commander. It's the identity I have out here in the galaxy, and it's the one I am 'officially' listed under." At the squad's blank nods, he continued, "Alright, so I'm a wizard. Those aren't '_advanced biotics_,' rather, they're magic spells. And they really don't like technology."

Here he clapped his hands together, "A little background. I'm human, I don't have a deal with the devil. Like a number of people back on Earth, I'm capable of using magic, which is pretty much whatever I want it to be. Guys are wizards, girls are witches. There's a secret society hiding away from everyone else on Earth, and they pretty much just want to be left alone. I came out here for my own reasons that I don't want to get into."

Rubbing his chin, he pressed on, "Let's see, I can't read your fortune, I don't have the Sight. My hat is not a lie. I'm terrible at computers, and I blame magic for that. I'm at least one fifth mad, and I joke around a lot, but not when my team's on the line. Oh, and I was born in Nineteen Eighty, so I celebrated my two hundred and third birthday not too long ago. I married Luna in the year Two Thousand, and I like to think we're still happily married."

Luna interjected here, "Apart from a slight case of expiration, of course. I'm currently in the forty second year of my death."

Harry just grinned at her, offering her a thumbs up, "And you look ravishing! Now, wh-"

Garrus held up a hand, "Can we go back for a second? You said you were two hundred years old? I didn't think humans lived that long."

Harry shrugged, "Goes back to the titles. Master of Death isn't just a fancy name, you know."

Meanwhile, Luna had been examining the squad, her hand held up to her forehead as if gazing at something in the distance, "So, I see you found a Ron and a Hermione. Ooh! And a matching Neville and Ginny to boot! Lucky!"

"Luna, they're barely kids, dear. They a-"

"_Kids!_"

Harry just frowned, his countenance immediately darkening and taking on a serious glint that bore none of the joviality he'd been showing. Immediately, each of the squad could feel something pressing down upon them, as though they were prey in the face of a predator. Quietly he looked at each in turn and stared them all down, "With the exception of Wrex and the possible exception of Nihlus, I can guarantee that I've seen and done more than the lot of you combined. So yes, _kids_."

Flushed with indignity, Ashley replied, "We aren't children, Shepard. We know what's at stake."

"I'm not discounting that. But I've got a good hundred seventy or hundred eighty years on each of you and I'm no asari. Hell, Wrex has probably got even more than that on me."

"Something like that."

"So yeah, you've all got history. You've all got some skill, and some experience. But Nihlus has got a lot more than you do, and I've probably got more than he does, if _only_ by dint of my age. Wrex is another matter entirely. If you all can't handle the fact that I _will_ _be_ _teasing_ _you_ about your age, then get off my squad. In line with that thought, I'll be commanding the ground team, with Wrex behind me or in command of a second squad should we split up. Nihlus will primarily be acting on his own; as an Infiltrator, that's where he's best."

The turian detective shifted a little, "_Wrex,_ sir?"

He nodded at the krogan, "Yes, _Wrex_. Because if I'm out of the fight and Nihlus is on his own, he's the one who has the best chance of getting your arses out alive." His voice finally lightened, and the squad imperceptibly relaxed, "So, now that that's over with, do you have any questions before we get to work?"

Kaidan just spoke up, nodding at the painting and trunk, "You said magic and technology didn't go well together. Why aren't those causing any problems then?"

"Excellent question! Most of the spells I use in battle are active magic; curses, hexes, charms, et cetera. They affect the environment around them. The trunk and painting, along with my battlerobes, for example, are passive magic; enchantments, reactive runes, et cetera. The magic's in them, and it doesn't go anywhere, so it doesn't cause problems."

Gradually, they began to warm up a little, and Ashley was next, "So what can you do, anyway?"

"Another good question. Lots of things. Much of it destructive in combat. I can apparate, which you've all seen, the teleporting popping thing. Shields and curses to defend with and attack. Harnessing the elements, and all that rot. There's a lot more that I'd tell you, but Nihlus is sitting there trying to figure out just how he can get the Council to believe this." Well, at least Harry thought he was, but considering the complete lack of reaction aside from a slight twitch of his mandibles, Nihlus was proving difficult to read.

The other squad members looked at the turian Spectre, and to his credit, he didn't react at all. Instead he just spoke up as if it were all business as usual, "You realize of course, that there's no way I _can't_ tell the Council about this."

Harry just grinned, a wide, disturbing thing, "Of course there is. I only told you so you'd be aware of my abilities and can plan in battle accordingly."

"And just what is the reason for my silence?"

Harry's voice was quiet and calm, not asking, but demanding Nihlus' full attention, "Threat. And fear, I suppose. The number of witches and wizards back on Earth is in the low hundreds of thousands. The number of magical creatures is even less. Now, it's true. There are a number of magical cures and abilities that could greatly benefit the galaxy, but for how long? The demand would far outstrip the supply. And as much as I hate the blighters, I'm also not going to let you just take them and slaughter or breed them to give you your fix."

Here, Harry's voice began to grow colder, "You've seen what I'm capable of, and more importantly, what my magic is capable of doing to electronics. They don't call me the Master of Death for my lovely singing skills. You _really_ don't want me to cut loose in the Citadel…some of my spells can crack _planets_. You report this and spark a witch hunt, and Palaven, Thessia, and Sur'Kesh will _burn._" As much as he was telling the truth, Harry was also aware of his own limits. He could probably kill one of the planets. Maybe two. He could definitely kill each and every inhabitant if he cut loose, which didn't really help Nihlus in the long run if he ended up being the one to spark a galactic witch hunt. But planet killing? That was another matter.

"You're bluffing."

"Oh? The _Silentum Exorcismo de Profanus Terrem_ is a forbidden spell, for a very good reason. When cast properly, the user splits off a piece of their own soul, filling it with their magic. It's then sent soaring down into a planet's core, whereupon it explodes, sending a powerful shockwave out that quite literally split the planet in half. And I am well aware of and able to cast it properly."

"How could your people be so irresponsible as to create such a weapon?"

"This coming from the turian. Desperation, of course, and a scorched earth policy. If we can't have it, no one can. And that is far from the most dangerous spell in my repetoire."

The turian looked inward for a few moments, before continuing, "I'll tell them your name, and that Shepard is a codename, but nothing more. Become a threat, as Saren has, and I'll personally send you to meet your ancestors."

Harry just smiled, putting on his best innocent face, "You can relax, Nihlus. I just want to be left alone, but the galaxy doesn't seem to get that. Harvesting innocents, well, somewhat innocents, is just something that just rubs me the wrong way, hence my threat. Glad we got that squared away. So! Onwards to work, how terribly boring. Nihlus, why don't you and I take Garrus and Kaidan and go get some answers regarding Benezia, and anything we can find out about the Conduit or the Reapers. Ashley, take Tali down below, see that she's properly armed and get to work on those mods. Squad just got bigger. Wrex, find a spot to crash if you want, talk to Pressly, he's the XO on board."

The squad all stood up, and Harry waved the others on as he began to pack Luna's painting and the trunk away. Jogging lightly to catch up, he left the briefing room to find Tali and Ashley right outside, "Something the matter?"

Tali just wrung her hands together before speaking up, "No I just, had a question that you probably wouldn't want to answer. It's probably stupid, I'll jus-"

Harry just cut her off, "Ask away. If I don't want to answer it, I won't"

"It's just that names are important, and you have all those titles, but, why are you using Shepard and not Potter?"

A small smile crept across Harry's face. That was a good memory, bittersweet, but good. The answer would tell them more about his history than he probably ought to, but hell, this was a day of secrets coming out already. Gryffindors forward, "It's a pen name, actually. My wife owned a magazine and printing press. And I would write every once in a while." He leaded against the wall of the corridor, "After a number of our friends had died, people started actively avoiding me unless they needed me to save them. I was in a bad place, furious , disappointed, sad, you name it. Then came one really bad week, where they vilified me right up until a new dark lady tried to take over, after which they said it was my duty to aid them. I ended up doing it, of course, more the fool I. Still, after that battle Luna just held me and we both sat there mocking the rest of the world. In the end, she just said this, 'They're sheep, Harry. You're a shepherd. You're not part of the flock, you guide and protect it.' I never forgot that."

He couldn't be certain, but Harry was pretty sure that the glimmer of a speck of a tear had appeared on Ashley's face. That would be fun. Tali was much harder to read, given her visor, but even Harry could see how her luminescent eyes had softened. In the ensuing silence, Harry just grinned and continued, "After that, she whipped up a costume that mimicked the dark lady's and we had incredible marathon sex for _days_. Nothing makes battles worthwhile like post-victory sex. Merlin I miss her." He clapped his hands and strode off toward the airlock, "Time to work, ladies, Saren isn't going to off himself, you know."

* * *

Author's notes: Please don't hit me! I wanted to get the big reveal out of the way, and this was the first big chance available. If you are wondering why they didn't wait for Liara, the answer is they barely know about her, and don't know that she'll be tagging along.

Also, I know that Harry comes off a bit smug and superior here, while intentional, that's not who he is at his core. To preemptively answer your reviews: He's been stuck in this role, and therefore with this team. He knows that if he fights alongside them, then he is going to grow to care for them. Therefore, right now he is slightly rejecting that and trying to unconsciously push them away. They will be growing a _lot_ closer at the missions go forward.

Now, I know there weren't any new spells, or a better look at Harry's magical abilities here. Bear in mind that he was fighting on a giant space station. Once we hit hard ground, he's going to have a _lot_ more fun with explosions and the like. That said, this is the style of combat he will be using, alternately switching between magic, his pistol and his blade as he determines it to be necessary. Like I said earlier, I'm basing this on the books, not the movies. So, Harry _won't_ at _any_ time be flying about the battlefield as a black or white mist.

One last thing: I know it seems as though Nihlus is acting very accepting, but that scene was from Harry's perspective, and he _wasn't_ reading the turian's mind. Take it with a grain of salt, people.

**EDIT:** **[[ **Okay I'm going to add this here and to the end of the first chapter because I'll admit I'm getting tired of replying to this particular brand of review. **Yes.** Yes, Harry can cast non-verbally. He does so several times in this chapter and the first. It happens. Now, it is my opinion, that the reason students are taught to verbally incant is to focus more on the spell, and put more into it. There is no reason why this benefit would go away with age. So when Harry needs absolute control, or to overpower a spell, he'll say the incantation. The reason he did so so often in the first chapter, is because he has _never faced the geth before._ He doesn't know what the hell they are and what works. So while he's still learning, he's going to overpower his spells to be on the safe side.

Furthermore, I wanted to address concerns that Harry is acting out of character. Bear in mind, while he_ started_ as the canon Harry, this story completely disregards the epilogue, and instead replaces it with a harsher story. Harry is _not_ that canon boy any longer. While he is still quite like him at his core, he has experienced too much, lost too much, been called to do too much, and is quite noticeably darker than the canon Harry, no matter how much he may joke and laugh. The ME universe is, to my mind, a bit darker than the HP one, and Harry _will_ reflect that. **]]**

Harry's Spellbook!

_Silentum Exorcismo de Profanus Terrem_ [Silent Exorcism of Unholy Terror]: Just as Harry described it, this is an ancient spell, forbidden by the Edict of Merlin to be cast by any man or woman across the Earth. It had been cast once before, thankfully improperly, and was thereupon responsible for the upheaval of Atlantis.

* * *

**EDIT: [[**Okay, for those of you new to this chapter: there used to be a nice little omake starring everyone's favorite Reapers, Harbinger and Nazara. However, it wasn't exactly the kind of thing that, well...okay, yeah. Things got weird. So, I'm removing it from this story, but never fear starship-aficionados! I am going to be revamping it, making it even more terrible, even more humorous, and a bit longer (and harder and all the other bits of innuendo I can think up). And then I'll be releasing it as a standalone oneshot. So hold on to your seats, for pretty soon the two will be coming...to a fanfic near you. Sorry, couldn't resist.**]]**


	5. Chapter 5: Therum: Part 1

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Mass Effect nor their affiliated bits and pieces are my property. The lucky people who do own them are J.K. Rowling and both Bioware and EA, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.

Author's Notes: Woah! More than 14,000 views and over 100 reviews already! You are all awesome! Thanks for the support! Also, I know some of you have PMed me asking about my other stories. Rest assured I am working on them: they're on the back burner, admittedly, as this one has me on a massive HP/ME kick, but nothing is being abandoned or discontinued.

Okay, so we're finally escaping the Citadel, having accomplished absolutely none of the side missions that it offered! Take note, as this will be the general trend this story will take. While they will perform a few of the available ones, including all of the squad's personal missions and some of the Cerberus ones if I can work them in, they will primarily be used as squad-training, and will not be the norm. They're more along the lines of 'we're waiting for new intelligence, so why don't we go do something instead of twiddling our thumbs?' As fun and storyline-influential as some of them are, a few rely on ME canon-facts that don't apply here (such as Harry being officially recognized as a Spectre), or they are effectively distractions from the overall mission at hand.

One more thing: While I'm sure it's fairly obvious, I am not in fact British. I am indeed an American (oh, the horror!) and as such, that is my inherent cultural background. I _am_ researching and trying to have Harry follow a more culturally and linguistically British approach, but there undoubtedly will be and have been differences. So, I'm sending out a call for Brit-pickers: let me know what I can change. Obviously, a lot of humor, drama, and plot-related prose will be relatively set regardless, but that's not set in stone and I want the day-to-day happenings to fit if I can.

* * *

The Green Eyed Spectre

Chapter 5: Therum: Part 1

* * *

**SSV-Normandy**

The rest of the day passed quickly. Harry and Nihlus had gone back to the Spectre Offices, gathering what intel they could, while Garrus and Kaidan had plundered the C-Sec headquarters for whatever they could find on both Spectres' orders. The two Spectres themselves had pulled a few strings and gotten information regarding the planned expedition of Benezia's daughter, one Liara T'Soni. Before long, they returned to the Normandy and as the others retreated deeper into the ship, Harry had stepped into the cockpit.

"Joker, we've got our first destination, Therum, in the Artemis Tau Cluster. Got us an archaeologist to interrogate."

"What kind of archaeologist?"

"Prothean, apparently. I'm hoping for an asari Indiana Jones, but you can never tell."

"Roger, Commander, I'll get us under way. ETA should be, let's see…approximately thirty nine hours, give or take. Oh, and by the way, the next time one of your missions takes you through a strip club, would you mind turning on the helmet cams? Fella gets awful lonely here, you know. Just sitting around. Pushing buttons."

"I'll tell Ashley and Tali to turn them on."

"Aw, but they're not going to look at the good stuff!"

Harry just smirked at the pilot, "And what if they do?"

Joker blinked once, and then turned back to his console, idly waving one hand in the air above him, "Fair point, Commander. Touché."

With that, the wizard left the pilot to his duties and headed into the Normandy proper. If his guess was right, most of the squad had finally begun processing that their world was much larger and more fantastical than they had imagined, and would likely have questions for him. Harry didn't mind terribly, as completely shattering someone's worldview could be quite rewarding when done properly and nicely.

Nodding at Pressly, Harry began by heading down to the crew's mess. Nihlus would be in the briefing room going over the new data, but Harry wanted to save him for last. And if his guess was right, then- yep. There was Kaidan, still fiddling with his locker. It wasn't surprising, the damn things were tricky at best and deliberately malicious at worst.

At his approach, the biotic stood up and nodded at him, "Commander."

"Shepard. And I'm betting you've got some questions."

Kaidan sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "A few, yes sir."

"My cabin then. The walls have ears, you know. Or they could, if I wanted them to. Actually, now that I think about it, why don't we get Ashley up here as well. I can talk to the others separately, but I'm guessing they won't have as many questions as you two."

The two retreated to the nearby quarters, and Harry toggled the comm on his wall, asking Ashley to come up and join them. The two sat down and chatted for a bit on the Normandy and her crew until a few minutes later, the Gunnery Chief joined them. Shutting the door behind herself, she took the last seat and Harry just smiled at her curious gaze, "You both have questions. Fire away."

The two glanced between themselves, and by unspoken accord, Kaidan began, "So, that wasn't a joke or trick or something? You're really a wizard?"

"Yep! Went to school for it and everything, good old hoggy-warty Hogwarts. Even taught for a short time, and was Headmaster for a very, very short time."

Ashley was quick to follow along, "And there really is a magical society hiding away back on Earth? With a school named Hogwarts, of all things?"

"Magical society's been there for quite some time. It only split off from the normal society around Seventeen Hundred or so, history was never my strong suit. Hogwarts is the school in Scotland, and is the one most British students went to. It started around One Thousand C.E., the oldest in Europe. There are a couple others around the globe, of course."

"Okay, and, just wanted to be clear here, sir, it's really magic? Not just some weird biotics, or crazy genetic tampering, or the 'power of Christ' or something?"

Ashley scoffed at the last but Harry ignored it, shrugging, "As far as I know. I suppose it's possible that I'm the second coming, but I don't think it's likely."

"Didn't think you were, but there weren't a lot of other explanations I could come up with, and divine power's got to be about as likely as magic."

"Two completely separate things, from my perspective." Here, Harry's expression darkened a touch at the memory of several of the dark lords and ladies he'd put down, "And for the record, the wizards who insist their power is divinely based tend to be of the darker and more megalomaniacal persuasion. I'm far friendlier."

Kaidan was silent, Ashley was decidedly less so, "Threatening genocide is friendly?"

"Not at all. I said friendlier, not friendly." Harry sighed, it figured that would be the thing they focused on, "Threats tend to work when you can back them up and the target is rational. Nihlus will undoubtedly tell his superiors, but that was inevitable. I don't care about keeping the secret, so he would have assuredly figured it out. Now, instead of the Council going on a witch hunt for magical solutions to their problems, they'll know that they'll have me to contend with. Got to deal with me before they go hunting."

"Seems like you're taking the heat for a people you yourself said you don't care about."

"I don't care for genocide, either, but it's now a choice between genocide for all or genocide for no one and tenuous peace. Call it a remnant of my naively innocent younger years."

"It still looks like a gamble to me, sir."

"But one with the odds in my favor, no one likes unnecessary genocide."

Ashley was undeterred, and fired back angrily, "No one like genocide, period!"

Harry scoffed and was quick to respond, "Come on, Ashley, you're not that naïve. People don't like the thought of genocide, true. Unnecessary genocide, usually. Their own, definitely not. But lots of people like the results it provides."

The biotic just sat forward, having remained silent, and rested his arms on his knees while bringing his hands together. Nodding at Harry, he turned and addressed Ashley, "I hate to admit it, but he's not wrong. Politicians and economists will take advantage of it being performed. The…remains…would grant scientists objects of study, and contractors areas to build upon. Others still will find opportunities wherever they can. It's not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but from a pragmatic standpoint? Just look at the krogan genophage, most of the galaxy seems to think it was a good idea." The lieutenant shook his head lightly, as if shaking off something, "That's enough negative talk, this room's getting dreary. Commander, there's one more thing I wanted to know. The painting: that was really your wife, not just a VI in a disguised screen or something? Or an elaborate vid comm to your very much alive wife?"

Ashley seemed to perk up a bit at this, and Harry was gladdened. Talk of killing was never fun, but talk of and with Luna always was, "Short answer, yes. But I suppose she can tell you better herself." Reaching into the pouch, he once more withdrew the trunk and set it on the floor. The marines watched fascinated and more closely as he tapped a carving on the trunk's lid, and it grew to normal size.

"Can I try that?" Well, at least it looked like Ashley wasn't having many issues with his magic.

"Sorry, the enchantment's tied to me, security reasons and all that. Anyone else will just get a tiny, well-locked trunk. And an appropriately tiny shock, of course." Opening it up and giving the marines a glimpse of the various things inside, he pulled the painting out. It was actually too tall to fit in the trunk, being nearly four feet in height and almost three in width. He was glad the conversation in the briefing room had been quick enough for them not to question it, but now, he just smirked at their openly quizzical expressions, "Magical trunk, remember?"

Their mouths closed quickly and silently, and he placed the painting onto the nearby desk, resting it against the wall. Smiling, he took in the sight of Luna hiding under the bed with a bug-catching net in hand, "Luna, we've been over this. The bogruumios come at night to snatch _children_. And they most certainly do not want to be your friend. You aren't a child and won't attract any. Come out from under there."

The marines focused their attention on the bed as the svelte blonde only pulled herself halfway out and began to address Harry, "You'd think that, but I-"

"Using child-scented shampoo won't work. It didn't work the last time, and it won't work now."

She pouted and proceeded to fully come out before seating herself on the bed, "You're no fun, love."

"Oh? Who was the one to take you to see the whippoorwills? And who was the one who convinced Bill to come so we could watch the fun?"

She smiled at him, "Alright, that was good." She looked wistfully out the windows painted in the background, "Oh, those angry, angry birds. And I'm also including Fleur after we brought him home in the number of birds referenced."

Ashley seemed to pay more attention and suddenly caught Harry's gaze, "That wouldn't happen to be the kind of bird you have on board?"

Harry just grinned, "Certainly not! Magical whippoorwills are smaller versions of their non-magical cousins; they came into being as the result of a nasty curse gone awry. Names and intentions are important in magic, you see, the result of which being a flock of birds that quite literally attacks anyone audibly named Will or William in their vicinity. They migrate around the world every five months and are invisible to non magicals. We were lucky to catch the flock when they were near our home once, good pranking opportunity there."

Meanwhile, Luna had moved to the extreme foreground of her painting and was looking between the three. Waving her arm, she got Harry attention and promptly tilted her nose skyward, stating in a dignified tone, "I am pleased that you have deigned to partake in a ménage a trois. You may commence the sticky man love."

The two marines began shifting colors, Ashley a deep red, and Kaidan a slight green. Harry approved of the Hogwarts-aligned color scheme, but didn't verbalize it, instead just deadpanning at Luna, "Dear, they're my minions, not my love interests. No sticky man love for you."

"Minions!?" The pair just paused and glanced at each other after the simultaneous outburst, and Harry continued as if they'd never interrupted.

"Minions, subordinates, underlings, crewmembers, lower-ranked squad members, not-quite redshirts, and so on and so forth. Minions just sounds…classier, than the others. Rest assured that I treat my minions very well, I don't needlessly sacrifice them, and I'll even throw in dental."

Ashley just turned to Kaidan with an inquisitive look in her eye, "We get dental?"

He just began to nod, but then stopped and bobbed his head side to side a few times while thinking, "Well, maybe not _you_, but _I_ definitely get dental."

Harry just beamed. It wasn't much, but it was a start. He'd corrupt them all yet.

Luna was undeterred, however, "Well, if we're not going to make with the sweet loving, and you're not going to make with the sweet loving and let me watch, then why'd you bring me out?"

"Luna! Sex isn't everything in life, dear! Why, I have need of your wise council and incredible judgment."

"I give your current performance a five point six, though you can boost it a guaranteed two points if you remove your pants."

"Love, slightly serious conversation here. I gave them the reveal, and I'm now trying to prove that yes, magic is real, and yes, you are in fact my wife."

"Well why didn't you say so? Honestly, Harry, getting distracted by sex of all things. I'm not just some bodice-ripping waif you can ravish at your leisure, you know."

"Of course you aren't. Well, not usually. Usually you're my wife, or at least the you that's not a painting is usually my wife."

Kaidan began gesturing for calm with his hands, "Alright, I believe you, that is in fact your wife." Under his breath, he continued, unaware that the wizard could hear him, "You're both strange enough to be married to each other, that's for sure."

Ashley, however, was not quite satisfied and continued where Kaidan had left off, a curious lilt to her voice, "Follow up question: if you're over two hundred years old, and she's the same age, and died over forty years ago, why do you both look like you're in your thirties at the oldest?"

Harry just pointed at himself, "Master of Death, remember? And no, I won't explain. My secrets have their own mysteries, which themselves tend to be all wrapped up in various enigmas. It's all very cloak and dagger. As for Luna…"

The blonde shrugged and began lightly bouncing on the bed, "When we realized that Harry had stopped aging, I began researching ways of sticking around with him. After all, the sex would have gotten really weird once I'd become an octogenarian and he hadn't. It took a decade of straight research, but I recreated Nicholas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone."

Harry nodded and took over, "The stone is what's used to produce the Elixir of Life. Probably the same thing you're thinking of, a fountain-of-youth-type-story. So as long as she drank it, she was effectively immortal. Flamel himself was over six hundred when he and his wife died, and that was when I was a kid."

Ashley wasn't quite done, however, and simply gestured to the elaborate frame holding Luna's painting, "So then, is this a special kind of painting that communicates with the dead, or are they all like that?"

A good question, one deserving a straight answer, "Paintings, and in particular, portraits in the magical world are all like this. While they're alive, a person's painting will remain inert and asleep, and once they die, the subject will gradually wake up and be able to interact with those of us still here. It's a nice way of remembering and seeking counsel together.

Luna was quick to interject before he could continue, "It's also wonderful if you're into voyeurism. I can't tell you the number of crazy sex acts I've seen. Where do you think Harry gets most of the themes and ideas for Fornax?"

At their slightly horrified and yet somewhat resigned looks, Harry kept speaking, "Like she implied, paintings can be connected, and the subjects can wander in between their own and others. Speaking of which, Luna? You never did confirm if whether you had a sultry tryst with the Fat Lady in Hogwarts before we left. I'm on a new adventure now, does that mean I get a new hint?"

"I suppose you're right. Horizon, the sunset over the crashing waves."

"Aha! Finally! Wait…waves…Merlin, woman! With Sir Cadogan? I never thought he had it in him…"

"Literally. They're keeping it from Barnabus. It would be like turpentine straight on his heart, and the musical just wouldn't be the same."

"Well that's just highly disturbing. Anyway, where was I?" Harry turned to the marines and found them alternately interested and very confused. Well, he supposed that had gotten a little off track, "Right, paintings. They move, they exist, they can transfer between themselves, and they wake up after the subject's death. In this case, both Luna and I had a number of paintings made, with the master paintings redone each year, as they only retain their memories up to their time of creation. Mine is obviously still inert, but Luna's woke up after her death, and this in particular is her master painting."

Kaidan just nodded, absorbing the information, "Alright, you really are a wizard and that really is your wife, as odd as it sounds to say you're married to a painting. So, what can you _do_?"

Now this was a far lighter and more fun question, and Harry finally gave a real and open smile, "Lots of things! Magic doesn't have a lot of limits. People do, of course. Not everyone could cast the spell I told Nihlus about even if they knew how, for example, but as far as magic goes, the limits of the imagination are a pretty good defining boundary. But I'm guessing you're both more curious about specifics."

The biotic acknowledged the statement, a small grin on his face affirming it, "A little. I admit I'm intrigued by the idea, sounds useful."

Harry sat back and took up his lecturing professor tone once more, "Well, I've made a study of battle magic from across the globe. There's a lot of spells from way back when normal armies fought side by side with wizards. Other subjects include Transfiguration, that's turning one object into another. Potions, which is pretty self-explanatory. You can do a whole lot with potions, but obviously you need the ingredients, knowledge, and skill to make them. Charms covers a wide range of spells, everything from conjured reading lights to summoning and banishing. Divination's the art of finding answers, whether that's locating your lost sock or a prophecy of the future, it's all in there. There's Enchanting, imbuing objects with magical properties like my battlerobes. Wards are magical protections, things like defensive shields on a building, or just plain hiding it from sight."

He cleared his throat before continuing, "The studies of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy tie into both of those. There are whole fields dedicated to all the magical animals and plants that exist. That was Luna's speciality."

Here, the blonde sat forward and added her own two bits, "Along with Journalism, Alchemy, a touch of Divination, and the Tantric Arts, of course."

Harry just nodded along with her. Watching her begin to master each field had been quite the experience, as he'd been intimately involved with each one except her studies in Divination. It didn't matter if his favorite pair of boots never reappeared; he'd been done with partaking in the Art of Divination since the Second War against Voldemort, "Then, there are the more notorious fields. The Dark Arts. Necromancy. Ritual, Soul, and Time Magics. Not all of it evil, per se, but most of the spells classified as one of them can be used for more nefarious purposes. A ritual to strengthen the body can be corrupted into one that strengthens, and therefore, anchors the soul, for example. I knew one dark lord who did just that, tying his soul to this world and then 'living' by jumping between healthy bodies."

Luna interjected, a frustrated and angry edge to her tone, "Oh yes, _that_ one. _He_ can burn in hell, love."

Harry just nodded, suppressing the surge of anger at the thought of that particular dark lord. Ignoring the curious looks, he continued, "Now, like I said, my focus has always been battle magic. That's a cross between Charms, Transfiguration, the Dark Arts, and what is termed 'Defense Against the Dark Arts.' I'm also one of the foremost experts in Soul Magic, though that came later in my life. So, any more questions? Or is this quite enough explanation for now?"

The two marines looked at each other, both appearing satiated if not wholly satisfied, and they stood up, Kaidan speaking for them both, "I think that's plenty for now, sir. Definitely clears a lot up, and makes me wonder more about Earth, but yeah, we're good. Permission to get back to work?"

"Granted, both of you. We're a ways away from Therum, our next destination, so I'm sure we'll talk more in the meantime. Ashley, make sure Kaidan's weapons are up to snuff. Dismissed."

They left the cabin and Harry turned to Luna, smiling, "You know, I think we won over another two with the magical side of magic."

The blonde just grinned widely, "I get another two points. Three hundred and ninety one to go for my pony. Are you alright, Harry? You look particularly sorrowful, you didn't let a couple glumbumbles invade your trunk did you?"

His voice quieted. His earlier anger had failed to completely dissipate, and he tried to let it go, "No Luna, just memories."

"Well you have lots of those, I think you'll have to be a bit more specific. I'm not in your head, dear."

"Bracero."

She sank to the bed, ceasing her bouncing. She brought her knees to her chest, and her voice matched his, "Ah."

"You think he's happy?"

"I know he is, love. And we'll see him again. You know that, better than most."

It was a cold comfort, "Yeah. Yeah we will. I'll talk with you later, love. Got to see a man about a dog." She nodded, unable or unwilling to speak, and he began repacking the painting and trunk.

* * *

**SSV-Normandy**

With the two humans taken care of and Nihlus set for last, Harry headed down to the cargo bay to speak with the last three members of his squad. The elevator was still unhealthily slow, and he waited impatiently for it to fully descend.

Finally, it stopped and opened up, revealing the cargo bay in all its dimly-lit glory. From the elevator, he could see Garrus near the front of the Mako with a set of tools handy, tapping on a console. To his left, he could see a cot against the wall, with Wrex kneeling in front of it, one of the Graals disassembled in front of him. Tali was probably near the shiniest thing, which meant she'd be in the engine room. Or drive core room. Either one.

Figuring Wrex would be a quick conversation given his earlier nonchalance, Harry headed over and got his attention, "Shepard."

"Wrex. Snagged one of the Graals, I see. Good. The new mods any good? Ashley made the list."

The old krogan snorted, but Harry could see the hint of a smile on his scarred visage, "They're not the usual junk I have to use. Been a while since I've seen one o' these. Good krogan engineering."

"Yeah, if we have the time I want to go thresher hunting, and if I can convince anyone to join me, they probably ought to have something that can actually hurt the buggers."

"Well, if we get the chance, you can count me in. Haven't had roast thresher steak in a _long_ time. As for the other Graal, give it to the quarian. Her shotgun's shit, and where we're goin' she'll need the firepower. The others don't use 'em as their primaries."

"Fair enough. Before I go, any thoughts on the 'magic' deal?"

"Hell, Shepard. Already knew you were weird. Can't be anything I haven't seen before."

Harry scoffed, flashing a fierce smirk, "I might just surprise you." Nodding, he turned to leave, "Wrex."

"Shepard."

Walking over to Ashley, hard at work in the armory, he quickly signed the other Graal out along with a supply of thermal clips. With it in hand, he strode back and down the ramp towards engineering. As the doors slid apart, he took in the sight of Tali working both diligently and ferociously at a terminal on the far side of the room.

Well this was Adams' domain, might as well see what she'd been up to, "Adams, how's Tali been doing?"

The Chief Engineer looked up from his terminal, "Damnedest thing, Commander. She's been switching from tech-genius to raving mad and back and forth."

Well that was odd, he didn't think the kid had been that unstable, "Going to be an issue?"

"What? Oh, no. Even when she's angry she's better at some of these computations than half the men I know twice her age. Give her a month and she'll know this ship better than I do, she's that good. Besides, from the bits I can hear, not that that's a lot with that helmet, her anger looks to be aimed at you. Something about an AI? Sir, to be frank, is there something on this ship that as its Chief Engineer I ought to bloody well know about?"

"Nothing related to your job, and nothing related to AI. I think I have an idea what she's on about." Giving Adams a wave, he walked on and cleared his throat when he was directly behind Tali.

The quarian diligently finished typing, her shoulders tense, and then spun about violently, pointing a finger at his chest, "_You! How cou-_"

He cut her off by tossing the Graal over, and Tali reflexively scrambled to catch it. In the moment of silence, he spoke quietly, "She's not an AI, Tali. Follow me." He walked away, passed the door and into the corridor leading down. It wasn't perfect by any means, but if they spoke quietly, they weren't likely to be overheard.

The quarian had gotten a grip on the shotgun and began to process his words before the spark of righteous anger caught flame, and she followed him with narrowed eyes. As soon as the door closed behind her, she spoke in a low, furious tone, "I saw how it reacted, Shepard. That thing was faster than any VI could hope to accomplish. I don't care what your cover story was or how well you disguise a terminal, there's no way it could be anything else."

Unbidden, Harry felt a spark of anger himself, "That '_thing_' is my wife, Tali. Not an AI. Not a computer. Not a VI. Not a vid comm. Not a bloody cover story. You heard my explanation. I'm a _wizard_, Tali. That was _magic_."

"But…but that _doesn't make sense!_"

The anger began subsiding, and Harry just spoke quietly, "The first and only logical rule of magic is that all logic gets thrown out the window; or airlock, as it were."

"But how did it-_she _ interact like that? You said she was dead! She agreed with you!"

At this Harry finally began to smile, albeit slightly, "That's what magical paintings are _for_, Tali. They're painted when the subject is alive, and once they die, the painted version eventually wakes up, knowing everything up to the time of their 'creation.' Luna did die over forty years ago, and her painting woke up a few months after that."

At this point, the quarian was just terribly confused, "So when you die, you…go to a painting?"

He let out a bark of laughter, "Not at all. It's an…echo, if you will. A remnant that can still interact with the living world, reminding and advising us, allowing us to mourn."

She slumped over, her shoulders falling as the shotgun was clutched close and she began wringing her hands, "Oh keelah, you're serious. Then…assuming we're both not just experiencing the same hallucination…I've made an idiot of myself, haven't I?"

Harry smiled warmly, trying to reassure her, "Again, no. You interpreted the situation according to what you knew, I can't and won't blame you for that. What I will blame you for is if in the future you don't even try to seek out answers outside your knowledge base. The world you knew just got a little bit bigger. And there are things I can do that can and will boggle your mind. So just…keep it open, alright?"

"Alright, Shepard. I can try. So what's with the shotgun? Oh! And I need to thank you! The Normandy's _amazing_, and it's incredible to be allowed to work on her!"

"Bet that confused your righteous indignation a little bit, huh?"

"…Maybe a little bit. The shotgun?"

"Gift. We're probably going to be seeing some heavier combat, and to use Wrex's description, 'your shotgun's shit.' That's one I bought for the Armory, but I've signed it out for your use as long as you need it." It was hard to tell with the visor, but her body language was close enough to human that Harry could see her light up, and she began eagerly turning the Graal end over end, examining it, "It's a Graal Spike Thrower. Krogan shotgun, used for hunting thresher maws. You'll need to keep it in top shape on your own, but if you need them, Ashley's got the manual for it and plenty of tools in the armory. She's also got a number of mods now stocked, so talk to her when you get a chance."

"Thank you, Shepard."

Harry shrugged, "For better or worse, you're part of my squad, kid. I take care of my team. We've got a good day and a half before we hit Therum, so talk to Ashley before then. You going to be alright?"

"Yeah…it was just, it-_she _looked so much like an AI, and after the geth and the Council, I guess I'm just a little AI-twitchy. Most quarians are."

"That's right, you said your people created the geth, didn't you?"

"Yes, though, not as full AI's. It was close, and stretching the law, but as soon as they rebelled and forced us from our homeworld, it didn't seem to matter to anyone."

"Politics. Not a fan of them, myself. Alright, I need to talk to our resident turians, and I suppose you need to get back to work. We'll talk some more before we get to Therum and after it."

"Alright, later, Shepard."

"Bye, Tali."

She headed back into the drive core room, and Harry took the ramp upwards, walking around the Mako and finding Garrus crouched down in front of the front wheel's drive system. Rapping his knuckles on the armored hull, he got the detective's attention, "Garrus. You're still around, so we need to talk."

The turian stood up, wiping his hands off on a rag kept nearby, "Sir?"

"Just Commander or Shepard, Garrus. None of this sir business. And I'm referring to the incident at Dr. Michel's office."

The detective was bracing himself for a dressing down, and it was a familiar stance to him. Interesting, given the turian military's emphasis of orders before thought, the fact that Garrus was used to being reprimanded indicated that he was either incompetent, or didn't follow all the rules. Given his performance thus far, Harry was inclined to pick the latter. So, if he's expecting a dressing down, how to catch him off guard?

Planting his hands on the Mako's front, Harry lifted himself up, spinning so that he was sitting on the edge of the APC, "Relax, whelp. You got the job done, that's good. I just take issue with your methods. Why were they wrong?"

If he was shaken, it didn't show in his voice, "My actions potentially endangered Dr. Michel by putting her in the middle of a firefight, Commander."

Harry cocked his head to the side, obviously considering, "Points for half the answer. As much as I can't believe I'm saying it, that was one situation where being a good turian would have come in handy."

"A good turian, Commander?"

"One who follows orders. Normally I have little use for such people, but this is one of those rare cases when it would have been usefully expedient. Can you guess why?"

Garrus shrank in on himself, minutely, but it was there, "You're telling me I should have just followed your lead blindly."

"Close, but not exactly. Following my lead, yes. Blindly, no. The simple fact is that I have abilities that would have ended that fight before it began, with no one dying. Now, obviously, you didn't know I had them, and so you took what you perceived to be the best available path. And in general, that is indeed the kind of soldier I want on my team, someone who thinks."

"So when do I take action and when do I follow? I don't know all of your abilities, Commander, all of my estimations will be wrong."

Harry shook his head, "And I'm sorry that I can't give you an itemized list, they're just too many and too varied in their usefulness. So in truth, I'm actually here to tell you to continue doing as you have been."

Garrus froze, "Wait, what?"

"That is, if you see a solution, take it. But! And here is the important part, you are _not_ the only member of your squad. Just because you may not see a solution doesn't mean I don't, or Tali doesn't, or Wrex, or anyone else. So take action, yes, but above and before that I need you working with your squad. Not following blindly, but a part of the team, sappy as it sounds. I've got little use for a completely solo gunman, we clear?"

Clearly more cheerful, the turian's reply was clear and straightforward, "Clear, Commander, and sorry."

"Glad that's over. So, any thoughts on the magic angle?"

Garrus suddenly looked almost sheepish, and his voice came out wary, "Not exactly. When we went to get intel I, ah, took the liberty of pulling everything in the archives on magic and myths from Earth. Haven't exactly had a chance to go through it yet, though."

Harry just chuckled, "Well you are a detective, I think curiosity's in the job description. Focus on the European myths, and let me know when you get through it. Some of the older stories are alternately hilarious or pure nonsense, and I'll try and fill in the blanks. We'll be on Therum in a day and a half, talk to Ashley and make sure your gear's prepped when the time comes."

"Yes, Commander."

Harry leapt down from the Mako's front and strode off, waving over his shoulder. It was finally time to speak with Nihlus. Another long elevator ride and a flight of stairs later, he was walking down to the briefing room. Nihlus was indeed there, standing in front of the large screen and poring over a plethora of reports and data on Saren and Benezia. Harry knocked once on the wall, alerting him to his presence and joined him in front of the terminal.

They were both quiet for a moment before Harry broke the silence, "You have a lot of questions for and about me, I'm betting."

The turian scoffed, "To say the least. Why don't I start with an easy one. I know from your files, the ones that were actually legitimate, that is, that you aren't actually insane. You really are wizard, of all things? I admit it was not a possibility I even entertained."

Harry nodded, "I'll save you some time, and just affirm that everything I told you earlier was the truth. Yes, I'm a wizard. Yes, magic exists. Yes, I'm older than dirt. And so on and so forth."

Nihlus turned to glare at him, his mandibles twitching once, "Glossing over the death threat you issued my people and the rest of the Council races?"

Harry shrugged, "I suppose I did, there, didn't I? And death threats shouldn't be glossed over, they should be given our full attention. Of course, it's not like that's my first option, but it is the one I wanted you to report to the Council."

The turian's tone was as ice, brooking no argument, "Explain."

"The threat is what happens if the Council goes hunting. We're all somewhat rational people, however, insomuch as politicians can be considered rational. I expect that they'll still pursue peaceful avenues first, even if they still intend to later take military action. Tevos will prefer peace, Sparatus will see a threat. Valern is the swing vote, and it comes down to whether he sees a people to be reasoned with or specimens for scientific study. My threat will force them all think at least twice about it."

Nihlus' hard gaze pierced him as the turian Spectre turned to face him fully, his hands flexing, "So why the hell would you just flatly threaten genocide? I was, and still am mind you, ready to kill you right on the spot!"

"It was a very dramatic moment. Secrets and tension, hope and drama. Couldn't let that pass up, no idea when another would come about."

The turian went slack for an instant, and his voice was blatantly incredulous, "You…threatened billions of live with the destruction of their homes…_because it was conveniently dramatic? _Spirits, Shepard! What the hell were you thinking?"

Harry scoffed, stepping away from the console and walking over to the wall and leaning against it, crossing his arms, "Of course not. The drama was just one reason I skipped straight to the threats. I threatened your people because I don't want them traveling to my old home and slaughtering hundreds of thousands of relatively innocent lives. Something that they have blatantly proven they are capable of, _and willing,_ to do."

"Only when it was necessary. So why even tell the squad your secret? Let alone issue the threat? You had to know that it'll only make the Council and I more likely to respond with hostility."

"Not talking about the genophage, though it certainly applies. You read my file, Nihlus, I was on Shanxi. I saw how your military's first reaction to a new threat was to respond with overwhelming force, and how they would have likely continued if not for Council interference. So this threat? Preemptive damage control. The secret of magic would have come out inevitably and possibly with far worse timing and consequences. This way, it happens on my terms. Hopefully peaceful, but devastating if necessary."

He stared the turian in the eyes, pinning him in place, "So yes, I imagine that as soon as you contact the Council regarding this, if you haven't already that is, they'll be speaking with the Alliance. The Alliance will speak with Earth's leaders, who will speak with the magical world, who will talk back. And all the governments with all their bureaucrats will find some tenable situation which won't please anybody but will keep the peace for a while. That is generally the peaceful way things can happen."

He raised his arms in a nonchalant shrug, doing his best to exude apathy, "On the other hand, and this is the hand I most definitely want you to relay, if the Council decides to hell with diplomacy and moves to annex, take, destroy, capture, dissect, breed, study, or forcibly subdue the magical world on Earth, that's when my threat takes a bit more precedence. And don't, for one minute, think that I won't know about it. I have eyes and ears everywhere in that world, sometimes literally."

Nihlus had faced the terminal again, and his taloned hands were gripping the railing in front of it tightly. He stared at the screen and spoke in its direction, "And yet damn near everything you say is just making me more compelled to kill you where you stand, and I'm beginning to suspect that you've done something to keep me here."

"No compulsion." Harry smiled, though he wasn't sure if the turian could see it, "If it would help, then know that I would strongly prefer the former solution, and I recommend you stress that to the Council. By and large, the magical world just wants to be left alone to stew in its own juices. Omnicide is messy and tiresome, leaving the obvious moral dilemma aside. So let me be clear in my threatening, that you may properly relay my intentions: _I don't want to destroy all of your homeworlds, but I can and will if you choose that destructive path._"

Nihlus was silent, his mandibles occasionally twitching a tad as he contemplated. As the silence progressed, Harry just uncrossed his arm, leaning away from the wall and standing ramrod straight. As he turned to face the wizard, Harry grinned wickedly at the other Spectre, "Of course, if you still want to try your hand at killing me, then by all means, good luck. The Master of Death isn't a title I got from a crackerjack box, runt. I'll leave you to your vid comm. I'm betting you have a call to make." Turning away, he left Nihlus to his own devices, exiting the room in one piece. Something he was admittedly a bit surprised by.

* * *

**SSV-Normandy**

The rest of the trip had passed calmly. Not having any major duties aboard the Normandy, Harry had spent his time bothering the squad members and occasionally crew members. He'd learned more about their abilities and specialties in trying to figure out how to best arrange them, though he'd already guessed at a lot of it. Garrus was a sniper at heart, and handy with an omni-tool in a pinch. Kaidan was more of a specialist, lacking the wide variety of conventional combat training, but possessing decent skills with electronics and lethal skills with his biotics. Ashley was an Alliance marine through and through, no biotics, no tech attacks, just lots of guns and the knowledge to use them all. Wrex straddled the line between marine and adept. As a krogan battlemaster, he was equally good at shooting you to pieces with his shotgun as he was at tearing you apart with his biotics. Tali was practically the epitome of a combat engineer, wielding her shotgun and floating drone along with a massive array of tech attacks and electronic skills. Finally, Nihlus was much like Garrus, only taking it to the opposite spectrum; as an infiltrator, he used his cloak to get incredibly close to an enemy or objective and take action from arm's length.

Harry had also been getting to know them on a more personal level. He'd been chatting with Ashley and riling her up, learning about her life with the marines, and at the same time fascinating her with tidbits about the magical world. He'd learned that Kaidan had been one of the initial L2's, and that the program hadn't exactly been kid-friendly, having been run by a turian. Harry resolved to find out more if he could, if nothing else, it would give him more ammunition against the Alliance, should they come after him. Tali had begun to warm up to him, and the excitable engineer was a font of conversation and information. He'd learned more about her pilgrimage, and just why it was so important for her in particular. It also appeared that she'd taken his electronic ineptitude as a personal affront, and had been trying to teach him, inundating the wizard with all sorts of technobabble.

He'd spoken at length with Wrex, learning more about the genophage and the krogan history and reaction to it. While the old krogan had refused to share any stories thus far, telling him to go see Tali for those, Harry was confident that he could wear away the gruff exterior. Similarly, Garrus was just beginning to loosen up a touch, telling Harry of his time in C-Sec, and a few of the crazier stories. In return, Harry told him a few of the wackier stories of his brief time with the aurors. Garrus had been surprised that he'd been an officer, albeit a magical one, and Harry had just grinned and told him it was a temporary thing. He'd been dared to become a Master Auror in under ten years, but it turned out he had no patience for the system. Nihlus had been relatively calm after their conversation, and indeed a tenuous peace grew between them. They spent their time together going over various bits of intel, and occasionally Nihlus would offer a bit more information on the Spectres.

Finally, the Normandy was on approach to Therum, angling for the three sites that Dr. T'Soni was most likely to be in. They'd detected the geth forces on the planet once they'd entered the system and begun scanning, and now the squad was down in the cargo bay, in between the Mako and Kodiak. As Nihlus tapped his omni-tool and a holographic map appeared, Harry addressed them and gestured to the map, "Okay Wrex, you're going to take Kaidan and Ashley and use the Kodiak to check out both Beta and Gamma sites. You'll be able to get to them faster than we will, and they have a lower probability of her being there, so hopefully they should go quick. I'll take Garrus, Tali, and Nihlus in the Mako, and we'll check Alpha. The Normandy dropping the tank should draw most of their initial anti-aircraft fire, so use that distraction to hit the first site. Now, we don't know if the geth are here to help or hinder the doctor, so just kill every robot you see, that ought to straighten things out. Commwise, Wrex, you're leading Team Levo. I'll be leading Team Dextro, and if I have to apparate away from the team, Nihlus will take command and I'll become Team Shepard."

Garrus was adjusting his Viper, fiddling with the settings, "Any idea how many geth they've got down there?"

"More than just a dropship's worth. We've also detected a number of heavy units, apparently they've got four legs and some kind of cannon, that's as much as we can tell from initial scans. See one, and get to cover immediately. Other than that, it's a pretty straightforward mission. Find and extract her, forcibly if necessary, peacefully if possible. Once she's been located and retrieved, we disengage and rendezvous here…rally point Delta, where the Normandy can retrieve the Mako. Backup rally and evac point is here…point Epsilon. Any more questions?"

"What should we do if Dr. T'Soni is hostile?" Much like Garrus, Tali was performing last minute checks on the Graal in her hands. It had become a source of much lighthearted teasing for the young quarian. In addition to modding it with a few aftermarket parts, she'd also gotten Ashley to help her paint it the same purple as the cloth wrapping she wore over her suit. Wrex had been the first to see and react to it, giving a rumbling laugh. She'd quickly raised it and revealed her new signature phrase, and the krogan had simply laughed harder.

"Subdue and capture if at all possible, kill her only as a last resort. If she's actively hostile, let alone allied with the geth, then she probably knows more about Saren and Benezia, and we'll need that intel. Anything else? No? Joker! Time to drop?"

The pilot's voice came over the overhead comm, having been listening to the briefing, "Thirteen minutes, Commander."

"Alright, then. Raise the shields and be ready to drop the stealth mode, I want those heavy units focused on us. Teams, get set for drop. Wrex, take the Kodiak out and be ready to enter the airspace as soon as the Normandy makes her run."

The two teams split up, Wrex leading Team Levo to the shuttle and Harry climbing into the Mako, followed by the rest of Team Dextro. He crawled forward into the driver's seat as Tali took the communication and engineer's seat beside him. Looking back, he could see Garrus climbing into the small turret, and Nihlus strapping himself into the jump seats behind the detective. The teams performed a comm check as Harry strapped himself in, getting a feel for the controls after so long. As the klaxons sounded out in the bay for a few moments before the atmospheric shields came on and the bay doors opened. Harry watched as the Kodiak powered up, smoothly flying forward out into the void above the red planet, and he gripped the controls.

This was going to be _fun._

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry about the wait! Finals week begins tomorrow for me, so this'll be the only update for a little while. Thanks for reading!

Some of you might be wondering if we'll be seeing any of the potions from the HP universe. While I have a few planned out, the primary limiting factor will be what Harry actually has access to. Since he's left Earth, he hasn't had access to the magical ingredients used to make them. Obviously, he'll have access to a few, those he could bring with him or safely cultivate, but the majority will be beyond his reach. Thus even if it would be easy to use a drop of Skele-Grow to vanish and fix a broken bone, he simply doesn't have a lot, and has to ration each use for the most efficient solution.

Additionally, I know that Teams Levo and Dextro are really cheesy names. Bear in mind they aren't permanent, and I'll be using even cheesier ones as the story progresses and the squad gets shuffled around. They will get worse, deliberately, and the squad members may take slight exception to that…

Now that we're getting to the ground, we'll also finally be seeing more magical combat. Which means a lot of spells, more nonverbal, more action, the occasional wandless (though those will be _rare_) and destruction aplenty. Many will be repeats, but there will be some new ones. I've got a couple ideas on tweaking the Therum mission, and you've already seen the first tidbit. Hope you enjoy it.

And for the last time (hopefully), _no_, Harry _won't _be hooking up with _any_ hot alien chicks. This is a Harry/Luna romance, though it most certainly isn't the focus of the story. If you don't like Luna, then maybe this story isn't the one for you (and that's quite alright), because she is definitely sticking around.

* * *

**EDIT: [[**Some of you seem to think that the Harry/Luna pairing is both creepy and a waste of a HP/ME crossover, judging by the reviews and PMs I'm already getting. In particular, I loved the one about it being an affront to God, though I won't name names. I agree, it definitely isn't a healthy relationship, even beyond the simple fact that Luna is indeed quite dead. However, there _is_ more to it than is readily apparent. I build my stories in layers and plans. There is almost always subtext underlying interaction, and occasionally even subtext below that. There have been hints to what I've planned already, for those of you who like to read between the lines :). And in this story, a Harry/(HP canon pairing) is what makes sense, and there is a reason Harry and Luna are together. While exploring a Harry/(ME canon love interest) would be interesting, that's not my goal. I wanted to explore a more parental and familial approach to the squadmembers.**]]**


	6. Chapter 6: Therum: Part 2

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Mass Effect nor their affiliated bits and pieces are my property. The lucky people who do own them are J.K. Rowling and both Bioware and EA, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.

Author's Notes: Finally we're deploying on Therum. Also, normally I don't overlap scenes, even with different viewpoints. I prefer to guide and leave the gaps to implication, as there's a lot of fun that can come from that, but I did it here in the beginning with Joker's viewpoint on the drop. Let me know what you think? Regardless, please enjoy.

* * *

The Green Eyed Spectre

Chapter 6: Therum: Part 2

* * *

**SSV-Normandy**

Joker sat in the cockpit, as was his usual post. The approach to Therum had begun, and he was listening in on the briefing Shepard was giving down in the cargo bay. Absently adjusting a few of the interface's settings, he toggled the comm when Shepard called out to him, "Thirteen minutes, Commander."

Shepard's reply fired back, and he began tweaking the controls. In one sense, he felt a bit of disappointment, what was the use of a stealth system if you don't use it? On the other hand, he was getting the chance to drop a Mako into hostile territory while dodging anti-aircraft fire and erupting volcanoes.

Sometimes it was just plain fun being him.

He toggled the bay doors, and moments later the Kodiak flew out smoothly. He supposed it wasn't hard to believe that Wrex had learned how to pilot in all those years out and about. Switching on the comm, he hailed the shuttle, "Wrex, I'm going to be making my approach run on course 195, down 20 on the descent. I want you to break away once we hit atmo and head here…thirty six kilometers west. Make your run on course 55 and head for Beta."

The reply was no less gruff than the krogan himself, "Got it. Can't wait to get out of his little chair."

"Roger that." Keeping the comm open, he addressed the Commander, "Five minutes out, Commander."

"Thanks, Joker." Silence ensued between them all as they waited for the drop. Joker's hand began to fly across the board, readying for the atmospheric entry about to come. Suddenly, Shepard's voice came back on over the comm, "_Relax_, Tali. I've been driving these things since before you were born."

They entered the atmosphere, and Joker began hurriedly toggling the various controls: adjusting their course, dropping stealth, bringing full power to their kinetic barriers and opening the bay door once more. As they drew closer to the drop point, several of the geth units below began firing upwards, a few rounds striking but not dealing any lasting damage. One eye on the timer, Joker toggled the comm again, "Fifteen seconds to drop!"

Shepard's voice just replied calmly, "Got it…Although, I suppose technically the last time I drove one of these was before you were born as well." Wait, what? Joker was distracted for a moment, taking in the Commander's statement.

Tali's voice quavered, confused and afraid, "Wait, what?"

Finally, it clicked for him, and Joker's eyes widened. That had better be a bloody joke, 'cause if he didn't know how t-

The launch indicator lit up and he quickly pressed it on reflex. Shepard's voice called back as the Mako rocketed out of the Normandy and towards the red hot planet, "Oh well! _Adventure awaits_!"

Joker cursed and began flipping through the procedure to take the Normandy back out into space, ready for pickup. Shepard hadn't shut the comm however, and Joker could hear the wind whistling by even as the multi-ton APC gently descended in a freefall, "Right. Thrusters. Now where were they…Merlin, it looks like they switched everything around while I was away. How am I going to find them now?"

As the Normandy breached the atmosphere and reactivated her stealth systems, Joker prayed that Shepard wasn't about to test the Mako's crash-survival capabilities. That would be one awkward conversation with the Council and Alliance, and he wasn't sure if he could blame the Normandy's VI this time.

Fortunately, it seemed his prayers were answered, or Shepard had been joking, for the Mako landed safely on his scanners. Once he'd achieved a stationary orbit to wait, Joker turned the majority of his attention to the scanners. They'd detected at least one geth dropship upon arrival in-system, and he wasn't keen on getting surprised.

* * *

**Therum**

As soon as the Mako had landed, Harry immediately killed the thrusters, bringing them to a bouncy and rocky landing, albeit a safe one. Next to him, Tali suddenly unstrapped herself and turned, simultaneously drawing her shotgun from her seated position and aiming it at him, truly an impressive feat.

"Don't ever, _ever_, do that again! Keelah, are you _insane_?"

His response of, "Partially," left her dumbfounded, and he finally took in the surrounding terrain before exclaiming to the rest of the squad, "Hey! There's lava everywhere! Check that out! That geyser must have been thirty meters tall! Wicked!" Waving the quarian to strap herself in, her shifted the Mako's gears, calling back, "Hold on tight. We're about four kilometers out from Alpha, and it's going to be a fun ride." Toggling the comm, he continued, "Wrex! Status?"

"Approaching Beta. There's a couple geth here, nothin' we can't handle. Hey whelp! Get on that turret! We'll let'cha know what we find."

Well, that sounded far more fun than their ride, and Harry hoped they would find some geth as well. It just wasn't fun driving a flying tank if you didn't get to fire the cannon, "Keep me updated, we're heading for Alpha." Harry floored it, sending the Mako careening forward.

It was indeed a rough ride, the Mako's vertically aligned mass effect fields made it incredible at combat drops and climbing terrain, but not at granting a smooth ride on the way. The unbroken path they were on was littered with structures, both modern temporary shelters and ancient Prothean constructions. Harry found himself weaving this way and that, negotiating between the old buildings and the pools of lava that bubbled away along their path.

Finally, they crested a hill, and heard the heavy whirring sound of an approaching aircraft. Grinning, he called back, "Garrus! Look sharp, we've got incoming." The geth dropship appeared on their radar and then on visual as it glided over the ridge in front of them. Not even pausing, it began to drop several of the heavy units, "Hey Tali? Are those the big ones we saw on scanners?" Its job complete, the dropship flew off in the direction they were heading. That was good and bad, meaning that Dr. T'Soni was probably at Alpha, but now they had more geth to deal with.

"Signature's not large enough. Not colossi, armatures then? They've got normal platforms as well."

"Garrus! Target the farthest armature and be ready to aim right!" With that, he gunned the engine, sending them charging forward towards the geth units. Immediately, the synthetics opened fire, and Harry juked the APC to both sides as he closed, trying to evade their fire for what it was worth. He could hear the main cannon spitting fire at the rightmost armature, pausing every few moments to cool and reload as it drew power from their drive core.

They were getting closer and Harry see the leftmost unit begin shambling to the side to dodge them, but Harry wasn't having any of that. Toggling the front-mounted machine gun, he brought it online and targeted the shuffling armature, opening fire. Though it did little permanent damage, it did cause the machine's shield to flicker and shudder, not quite failing. Beside him, Tali was openly growing concerned as the distance grew shorter and shorter.

"You're not go-"

"_Reinforce the shields!_"

The geth's dodge wasn't enough, and Harry crashed into it, sending the machine flying back and causing the nose of the APC to jut skyward. Pausing to let it drop, as soon as the front end was low enough, he gunned the engine once more, charging the walker once more. This time, the Mako hit it and began driving over it, crushing it under the APC's weight. The cannon hadn't stopped firing, so as soon as they were over, Harry braked and shifted, beginning to back up. The armature was damaged, its front limbs and armor plating crushed, but it tried to escape and rotate to bring its own weapon to bear.

As fire from the other geth landed around them and impacted, causing their shields to shudder, Harry ran the geth over again in reverse, crushing it almost completely. Continuing to reverse, he brought the machine gun on the front of the APC to bear once more, firing at the fallen machine.

The rounds impacted, sending the armature from down to out, and he stopped reversing, turning the Mako towards the remaining geth. Two of the armatures were downed thanks to Garrus's accurate fire, but one remained, along with a score of geth troopers, and he called back to Garrus, "Armature first, then work your way down in size!" Activating the machine gun, he charged the bulk of the troopers. Being much faster than their larger brethren, they scattered, but he managed to run a pair over, including one of the rocket-toting ones. Above him, the cannon barked, sending round after round at the heavy unit.

Not even slowing down, Harry drove out the other side of the host and began turning the Mako, firing the thrusters at the right moment to spin them in place before reversing and firing with the machine gun. The two guns' fire quickly mowed through the remainder, dismantling the armature and tearing through the troopers. Soon, the Mako stood alone, and Harry stopped moving before angling them back onto the path they'd been following.

The path continued for a short while, growing rockier and more closed in as they rose up the hill. Suddenly, the scanner began beeping, and Tali spoke up, "Lots of contacts, probably the compound."

Harry slowed the APC down and paused, bringing up the map on the console in front of him along with the initial scans of the planet they'd taken from back on the Normandy, comparing the two. Good, it was the compound, and the side route was indeed there, "Alright, initial scans and topographics show a second route that bypasses the main path. Probably guarded, but not as heavily. Nihlus, I want you to take the Mako and punch through that route."

The turian Spectre sat looking at the map on his omni-tool and interjected, "Wait a moment, don't you generally attack with the tank as a diversion and sneak in with a small team on the side?"

"You assume the tank is the heavy artillery of our squad."

Nihlus just deadpanned back at him, an interesting tone with the turian's flanging voice, "Right, you're insane, must have slipped my mind. Well, at least your death will save me some paperwork, you'll cue the attack?"

"Yep. Sneak around the side and flank them when their attention's on me." Fully braking the APC, he unstrapped himself and toggled the hatch, getting up and exiting the Mako.

* * *

**Therum**

Harry calmly stepped out from around the bend, and took in the small canyon before him. It was a decent defensive position, forcing attackers into a classic bottleneck against the trio of turrets. Immediately, the cannons saw him and began tracking, rotating to bring their guns to bear. Channeling a fair bit of power, he barely waved his wand and the ground in front of him rose up and became clear as glass. Through the barricade, Harry began eyeing the turret's positions and the small canyon surrounding them, beginning to chant quietly. Both turrets opened fire, repeatedly sending rockets in a staggered, continuous fire against the solid barrier in front of him, and the bursting impacts blocked his view. No matter, he knew where they were, now.

Whispering, he incanted, "_Lancea de_ _Scelesto Terrem_." The rocky canyon floor below the three turrets immediately rumbled before bursting into hundreds of thin spires, piercing the small towers to the sound of tearing metal. Immediately, they stopped firing, and it took a moment for some part of the damaged machines to catch alight, but each promptly exploded. A flick of his wand reduced the barricade in front of him to nothingness, and he called into his comm, "Nihlus, go now!"

The APC charged out from behind the rocky formation, its wheels spinning. The tank advanced and swerved as Harry began striding forward. In moments, the Mako turned from the main path and towards a rocky uphill route off to the right, but his attention was now on the gates and the mess of spires blocking him from attacking. Well, no need to let them go to waste.

Continuing to wave his wand, he twisted in place and apparated to a point around thirty meters away from the massive gate. Two more gestures from his wand and two oversized _Zagens_ flew out, and he neatly directed them through the spires and turrets near the ground of the canyon. One quick nonverbal _Wingardium Leviosa_ prevented each spire and all three turrets from falling, holding them in place midair.

The turian Spectre's voice came over his comm, "Got a turret here, won't be a problem long, then just a small defensive wall we can destroy and we'll be inside. Give us two minutes tops."

"Copy that." Waving his wand aloft, Harry maintained control of the spell and directed every one of them to begin rotating till their points and barrels faced the main door, "I'll try to save some of the easier ones for you kids."

Another voice called back over Tali's affronted scoff, "Just don't throw out your hip, old man." Harry actually paused for a moment as a swell of pride raced through him. It figured Garrus would be the first to start fighting back against his teasing.

Absently shaking his head, he brought both his wand-hand and off-hand up together in front of him, pointing at the large door. Simultaneously dispelling the levitation charm, he tore his hands violently apart and incanted, "_Mōko Kaimon Ha!_" The overpowered gate-crasher rushed forward, a sphere of incandescent orange, catching the spires and debris before they could fall and sending them flying as well. The spell itself was faster, impacting the gate and tearing it in two. The left half crumpled in on itself, metal shrieking, and swung forcibly back while remaining attached at the wall, carving an arc of upset ground away from the gate. The right half was torn from its couplings entirely, crashing backwards end over end as it gouged a trail of destruction through the ground, containers, and geth in its path before embedding itself in the canyon wall opposite the gateway.

The destruction hadn't ended, however, as the accelerated spires tore through the air on the gates heels, piercing through containers and geth alike. The debris acted as massive fléchettes, shredding through obstacles in their path and tearing them asunder. The turrets' remains began shattering with each impact, turning into a spray of shrapnel that littered the ground, but the rocky spires themselves flew forward, impacting and lodging in the canyon wall with a series of loud and sharp _cracks!_ They formed an interesting image, nailing into the wall alongside the ruined half of the door moments after it landed.

Conjuring a translucent _Argent Tuitio_, he switched control of it to his off hand, wandlessly maintaining it, and twisted in place. With a quiet snap, he appeared on the roof of the structure to the left of the gate and took in the compound and geth before him. The compound itself was a large gulch in the rocky hills, maybe three hundred meters across. There were a few prefabricated buildings around beside the larger gatehouses, and a number of dividing walls serving some hidden purpose or other. The good news was that Tali had been right, the networked turrets let them know who was coming, and they immediately began preparations to defend against him. The bad news was that they had immediately began preparations against him, most overtly scattering, as each unit was taking its own cover well away from the others.

Apparently they didn't want him getting any easy two-for-one kills today. Bollocks.

Mere seconds had passed before one spotted him and then the whole lot was firing up at the roof he was observing from. The shield stopped their fire for now, but it wouldn't last. Silently, he cast a pair of _Icti_ at the largest one he could readily see, the two spells spitting through the geth, demolishing its head and coring the center of its chest. He twisted once more and apparated to the left, to the roof of the structure there, behind the camp's large dividers.

There he paused, goggling.

Apparently this was some sort of operating or recon base; that had been apparent. What hadn't was the temporary repair bays that had been set up, two of them filled with the medium armature class units, and one of them containing a massive colossus class unit. The three were up and had been moving out from cover and into the central courtyard, but they were fairly slow machines, more siege engine or construction tool than interceptor. Thank Merlin for small mercies.

Even as he begun twirling his wand, Harry called into the comm, "Three walkers, they'll be far side from your entry."

"Copy that."

Mid cast, he twisted in place, apparating between the three walkers and the wall behind them. He finished and thrust his wand forward, simultaneously responding, "Focus on the little ones, you know, when you finally get here." Six pairs of massively oversized _Manille Rubis_ appeared, shackling each walker's opposing limbs together. Another pop had him on another prefab's roof, and one last twist of his wand had the chains connecting the shackles begin retracting, drawing the limbs together even as the heat began to scorch their armored coverings.

One of the geth must have spotted him however, and all three walkers began trying to twist to face him, but their efforts were hampered. The two armatures' legs were firmly being pulled together, but the colossus was resisting it; the machine suddenly contracted itself into its ball form, shattering the bindings. Harry cocked his head, that was unexpected, but if they didn't feel pain then the spell would probably be-

A ball of blue plasma rapidly approaching cut him off and he spun in place, apparating several meters away and taking in the three. Both armatures had followed the colossus' example and the three were even now standing and turning to bring their 'head's to bear on him. One quick _Ictus_ to the colossus' main gun resulted in it simply contracting into its ball form again and the others both firing at him. One more apparition away and he heard the loud retort of the Mako's cannon over the sound of it charging. Glancing over at the main courtyard Harry took in the sight of the APC busting through the outer wall of the compound, coming back down on its wheels and beginning to circle around the geth, both guns firing. Well now, he couldn't let them take the center stage, they'd never let him live it down. Toggling his comm, already beginning to fizzle and emit static, "Nihlus, keep to the outskirts and herd them towards the middle when you can."

Getting the walker's attention, along with a few of the troopers not distracted by the Mako, Harry began alternating _Bombardas_ and apparition, leading them towards the center of the compound where most of the geth were. He ignored the impact of rounds hitting his shield, only dodging when one of the armature's plasma shots came his way. The Mako had been circling, firing its cannon at several of the larger geth troopers when it could, but retreating behind the now-useful dividers to recharge its shields when it needed to. Soon, the two armatures were entering the courtyard, followed closely by the colossus, which had apparently been repairing itself, and Harry apparated once more to the top of the gatehouse he had entered from.

Good, the three were far enough in, and the two score geth remaining in the middle behind cover were split between firing at him and targeting the Mako. Harry toggled his comm, "Stay to the side for this next bit and crank your shields just in case."

One last twist had him popping right into the middle of the courtyard, and he was instantly assaulted by Geth shifting in cover and firing at him. The drain on his shield intensified, but he would only need a moment. Beginning to silently incant, Harry brought his wand low, and upon finishing, the tip began spouting a tongue and then rope of fire that only began to grow. Instantly, Harry raised his wand, circling his head once, and the fire _roared_.

The whip of fire he'd first seen Dumbledore perform was no less deadly than it was in his youth, the ring of flame surrounding him and beginning to spin. The orbiting wall of fire was only the beginning, however, and Harry focused his magic, willing it to feed the flame and spin it faster.

The conflagration grew, first only a few meters in diameter, the inferno crackled as it spun faster, devouring the air around itself and growing larger. Growing taller. Within moments, what had begun as a blazing ring was a full-fledged firestorm, a veritable hurricane of scorching flame and ash nearly a hundred meters across. Still he fed it, as the containers and geth closest to him were already melting from the heat emitted. Those further away, along with the three walkers were completely out of his sight for a few moments. Some rounds still came at him, but at this point most simply burned or were batted away by the rotating inferno. Counting on the shield generator at his waist to catch any further errant shots, Harry dispelled the _Argent Tuitio_ and turned his full concentration upon the firestorm.

All too soon, the blaze expanded to fill the courtyard, the geth troopers around him having been reduced to their melted components, and the three walkers just now being engulfed. One of the squad was saying something on his comm, but Harry couldn't hear it over the inferno's roar. With the walkers now attempting to weather the assault, Harry began concentrating and _pushing_, not reducing the flames but compressing them into a thin outer ring that spun ever faster. Soon, he could see the three, caught in the blaze. The two armatures were collapsed in ball form, desperately trying to survive it, even as Harry could begin to see them and their outer shells starting to match the color of the inferno. The colossus on the other hand was still up, trying to move away from him even as it continued to fire. The blue plasma was simply swallowed by the blaze each time, however, and Harry continued to compress the ring of fire into a superheated wheel of death.

The armatures were already beginning to fall apart, collapsing into large pieces and then burning away faster, carried away as if by a stiff breeze. The colossus' shields had finally given out and the wizard could see it beginning to glow. Two more shots came at him, futilely, before the conflagration began eating away at the limbs and neck of the tottering machine. It collapsed and the ring of fire seemed to perceive the opening and burned ever hotter, literally devouring the colossus and reducing its glowing parts to liquid and ash.

Finally, Harry began to reign the fire in, first lowering and slowing it down, taking half a minute to fully reduce the inferno to a thin, still ring of fire nearly two hundred meters in diameter. One more flex of his magic, and the fire itself collapsed on itself, dissipating into the heat of the planet's air. Blinking a few times to clear his vision, Harry spotted the Mako over near the other gatehouse, a little blackened, but not overtly damaged. Brushing aside the slight bout of tiredness, he spun once more and appeared nearby with a crack, in between the APC and the gatehouse. Toggling his comm, he got a nice blend of static and silence, and he spoke calmly, "Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you kill robots. Mind opening the Mako?"

Nihlus' voice was calm as ever, but there was a minute stutter at the beginning, "Y-Yeah, door's open. Actually, wait a moment, the gate controls should be in the prefab. Tali, go with him."

Right, the other gate. Facing it, Harry brought his hands together, "Don't bother. I'd rather not have their backup forces close it on us if we need to return this way. _Mōko Kaimon Ha!_" The orange sphere of force flew outward as he tore his hands to the sides, impacting on the massive gate and ripping through it. Unlike before, the door remained in one piece, attached to the main frame. However, it simply crumpled with a shriek and spun outwards, gouging a furrow in the rocky ground and digging into the wall on the side of the new path. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Harry turned away and jogged over to the Mako, grabbing the handhold and swinging in, "Nihlus, you're going to have to drive for a couple minutes, that fire took a bit out of me." Taking in the turian's quick nod and the other two, still in their positions, Harry swung toward the tiny passenger compartment, dropping into one of the seats.

The Mako lurched forward, and Harry leaned forward and looked out the front. The two turians were being stoically silent, likely remnants of military training, but Tali wasn't focused on the console in front of her, continuing to almost turn and look back at him before stopping herself. Smiling to himself, he spoke up, "Relax and focus, Tali. We can talk about it back on the Normandy, but that's a taste of my magical super-powers." She nodded and turned back to the console, her attention appearing to be wholly on it. Pushing a few buttons on his comm, Harry opened a broader channel, "Wrex, report."

The krogan's voice came back filled with static, breaking up every few words, "Don…eta, doc's not…eep site's fucki…th the com…e're hea…o the surfa… d then to…mma."

"Come again, heading for Gamma?"

"Yea..."

The Mako crested a small hill, and Harry felt his stomach rise as they were weightless for a moment before landing, "Roger, we found a bunch of geth camped, probably more ahead for us, watch your ass."

"…iggy little scra…f tin ain't a probl…et. Dibs on Alph…ext tim…ant a challen…"

He jerked forward as Nihlus swerved first one way and then in quite the other before braking briefly, "Noted, good hunting." Tapping the faintly vibrating comm, he opened another channel, "Joker status and scan report."

Unlike Wrex, the pilot's voice came back clear, aside from the slight static coming from Harry's own comm unit. The tunnels were probably responsible for the signal issues then, "Green here, Commander, no sign of that dropship. No hostiles near Beta or the Kodiak, but there are definitely some near Gamma. Can't get a clear read on how many from here. And I'm picking up some strange readings from Alpha, like off the damn charts, along with more geth in between you and the dig site."

"Roger that, keep me appraised and be ready for emergency extraction if needed. Also, not sure if Wrex's contacted you, but I'm getting the feeling that the ruins or tunnels or what have you is messing with the comm channels."

"Yeah, sounds like Kaidan and Williams are having a ball. You're evil, Commander, well done."

He bounced in his seat as the Mako suddenly powered up one of the old highway tunnels, and then rocked back and forth as Nihlus tried to keep it on a reasonably straight course, "Builds character. We may lose comms as we head down. I'll let you know when we're descending, but for now start comm checks every five. Tell Wrex to do the same."

"Oh great, I get to play vidmarketer to the ancient krogan mercenary who can break me with his mind. I want hazard pay."

"Take it up with Hackett. Shepard out." Disengaging the comm unit, he stood up and headed for the front of the Mako, Using handholds to keep his balance. They were still in the tunnel, though there was a turn up ahead, and Harry tapped the back of the driver's seat, "Hah! Not so easy, is it?"

The turian's voice was exasperated, "Spirits! Who the hell designed this piece of scrap metal?"

"For future reference, it's not a sailing vessel, you don't have to tack. Slow down, hop out, and let me take over."

Nihlus slammed on the brakes and Harry lurched forward, "Take it! Your driving is better than having to deal with it myself!" Harry stepped back into the small compartment as the turian worked his way out of the seat and to the back. Moving forward and sitting down, he took in the readings once more, Harry gripped the controls and smoothly accelerated. He was looking further down the tunnel when the scanner began beeping and he turned to Tali.

The quarian examined the console and spoke up, "Geth units, six of them right around the turn."

Harry smiled, and the quarian shrunk back a little. Flooring it, their smooth advance turned into a flat out charge and Garrus was quick to interject.

"What are you _doing?!_ We can't turn at that speed…can we?"

Tapping a few of the buttons, Harry focused on the distance between the APC and the turn. Without removing his gaze, he called back, "Keep the turret pointed straight forward, got it? And hold on, all of you!" They drew closer, and Harry shifted to the left side of the tunnel. Moments before the turn, he suddenly slapped one of the buttons and spun the wheel and yoke all the way to the right.

The Mako shuddered as it tried to turn faster than it was meant to at those speeds, its tires screeching along the old road. Fortunately, they barely missed the inner curve of the turn and the geth immediately opened fire, though their shields held. The back end swung out and they went skidding around the rounded corner before the momentum took over and the APC tipped up onto the left three wheels. Fate must have been watching over them, for at that moment, one of the rocket troopers fired, and the round struck them with enough force to prevent them from rolling into the wall opposite. Calmly, Harry fired the thrusters, continuing the turn until they were fully facing the opposite direction they'd started from. Still they were moving in the direction of the geth, and with no further rockets, they soon tipped all the way over, and began rolling side over side.

This proved to be most fortuitous, as the six geth troopers were promptly steamrolled by the tossing, tumbling tank. Another two rotations followed before they came to a stop top side up, tilting skyward for a moment on the three left wheels, but then falling back down to all six. Harry just grinned back at his both figuratively and literally shaken companions, "See? Now that's how you drive a Mako! Systems report?" Serenely, he reversed for a moment before turning and accelerating towards the tunnel's exit.

Tali just calmly held her shotgun out and pointed it at him with one hand while focusing on the screens in front of her, "First and second left wheels are damaged, but it's not bad. Armor's a bit crumpled all over, but it shouldn't hamper anything, I think. Turret's beat up but functional. We can go."

"Are you going to be putting the shotgun down?"

"No."

Harry shrugged, "Fair enough. If you need two hands on the console, you can tell Nihlus to hold me at knife point or something."

"Thank you, Shepard."

"Happy to help."

The exit grew larger, and as they neared, the console began beeping once more and Tali just cocked the shotgun, addressing them all, "Eight geth and one walker, looks to be armature class."

"I suppose we can do this the old fashioned way. Garrus, once we're out I'm going to break left, hit the walker and work your way down in size."

"Copy that, Commander."

Ten meters from the exit, the geth fire began impacting all around them, and Harry swerved the tank to the right to dodge a ball of plasma before yanking the controls over. Activating the machine gun, he began firing ahead just to keep the geth in cover, and over his head he could see the flash and hear the roar of the cannon firing. They burst out of the tunnel onto a ramp downwards, and Harry threw them to the left, keeping his eyes on the scattered geth and crates.

"Lava."

Blinking, he turned back to look forward and saw the lake full of lava that bordered the road. Now that was just plain unsafe, but they still had ten meters to go or so and he kept advancing, "I see it."

"_Lava!_"

Meters from the edge of the molten sea he spun the controls, yanking them away from certain death and back around towards the geth, circling around them, "Alright, Tali, I'm turning! Merlin!" Above him, Garrus hadn't stopped firing, and Harry could see the armature, or rather the scattered remnants of the armature lying about. Directing the APC towards two of the smaller troopers that had taken cover together, Harry began firing the machine gun at a third.

It was for naught, however, as Garrus quickly saw his plan as fired directly ahead, destroying the crate and both geth behind it. Finishing off third with the machine gun, Harry took in the small battlefield. One final _boom_ sounded out as Garrus destroyed the last of the geth troopers, and Harry frowned minutely, calling back, "Thanks, Garrus. What's the point of a flying tank if you can't run things over with it?"

"You aren't going to be the one repairing it after the mission, Commander."

Well, that made sense, "You're right, my apologies. I'll reserve charging attacks for the really big ones." Beginning to drive further on, The path returned to the normal unpaved rocky ground, scattered with the occasional building or remnant.

Wrex's voice suddenly came over the comm, clear and craggy, "We're out of Beta, some machines, no doc. Heading for Gamma now, 'bout ten minutes."

Harry tapped the comm on the Mako, "Copy that, we're near Alpha. Lot of geth around. Either this doc is leading an invasion point from her scheduled dig site or she knows something important enough to send all these troops." A throaty scoff was his answer, and Harry turned back to the path ahead.

They were driving up a slant, beginning to angle to the left, and finally they reached the crest. In the distance, another ramp and tunnel entrance beckoned them onward. The geth troops in front of it on the other hand, probably weren't too happy to see them. Shifting, Harry gunned the Mako, sending them flying down the bouncy slope. The cannon fired with a heavy _thoom_, and he immediately brought the machine gun online, aiming for the nearest geth trooper.

They had all begun firing, however, and he swerved to the left, nearly ramming the wall of the gulch before he saw it, "Garrus?"

"The colossus?"

"The colossus."

Pulling away from the wall, Harry watched as the cannon fired down at the massive walking siege engine, and he added the machine gun to the mix, hoping to crack its shields and give the cannon a better shot. Reflexes saved them from the next ball of plasma, but they swerved right into a rocket that tilted the nose skyward.

Firing the rear thrusters, the Mako leapt into the air, and a pair of subsequent rockets flew beneath them before they landed and he gunned it. With eyes trained to Seek, he quickly caught sight of the bright red geth units bearing the launchers behind cover, and he shifted, charging them, "Front shields!" Two rockets impacted, but the nose was far enough down that they barely deterred the Mako from its course. Ten meters away.

Five meters.

Two.

The geth split apart, rolling to each side and Harry ran over the barricade they'd been using. Keeping the engine hot, he continued and spun them about, firing the thrusters midway and throwing them into a spin midair. Coming back down, he called up, "Garrus! Left rocket!" Aiming at the right one himself, Harry opened up with the machine gun, sending a hail of mass driven rounds to chew a line through the trooper's shields and then the geth itself. The cannon simply barked once, and the rocket trooper on the left was reduced to a glowing smear on the ground. Harry accelerated once more, "Colossus?"

"Scoped and dropped."

"You know the drill, work your way down." The trooper in front of him was racing back towards the hill lining the gulch, probably trying to get to higher ground, but Harry cut it off with a stream of rounds from the machine gun, tearing through its shields and body. Spinning to the left, Tali's voice interrupted

"Shields at fifty percent."

"Got it, keep them alive." There were still a few geth taking refuge in the main tunnel structure and he began advancing slowly, "Garrus, the shooting gallery's all yours."

As they drove perpendicular to the tunnel, Garrus had the main cannon aimed up and was tracking the few left, firing every once in a while. Occasionally, Harry would slow down and reverse, or speed up, keeping them a mobile target. All too soon the cannon flashed one more time, and Tali called out, "No more hostiles on scanners."

Harry stopped and spun about, taking the APC up the ramp and into the tunnel. It was a curvy thing taking a couple minutes, but there weren't any geth in sight. Coming out, they took in the small ramp down and in the distance, the large rocks blocking the path. Harry sighed, that would complicate things. Taking a look at the map from his display, he spoke up, "Alright, we're getting out here, the path's blocked." Driving down until the Mako rested at the base of the ramp, he toggled the comm to the Normandy and Wrex, "Path's blocked. Joker, come down and retrieve the Mako by remote, we're going ahead on foot. Wrex, once you're done at Gamma, bring the Kodiak around and pick us up."

"Roger that, Commander."

"What am I, whelp, a taxi?"

Nodding at Joker, Harry addressed the krogan, "If you are, you're a taxi with combat shields and turrets. With all the geth here, I'm betting our doctor's at Alpha, so Gamma should be the same deal as Beta. Once you're done there, haul ass over here and secure the ground outside Alpha for extraction."

"Copy."

Harry turned to Tali, his face inches away from the barrel of her shotgun, "Still necessary?" He could see her color a bit through the tinted visor, but she calmly put the gun away, and the team began crawling out of the cramped tank. Garrus locked it down once they were all out, and Harry just turned to him tearing out his fizzling comm at the same time, "Backup comm?"

The turian reached into one of his pouches and pulled out another earpiece, tossing it over. Harry clipped in the secondary unit, the channels coming through clear again, it having been kept away from his magic. Pitching the now useless one over into the river of lava, he got the team's attention and gestured at the path ahead, "Alright, time to go. Nihlus, cloak and take point, Garrus the rear. If we engage, come together, and we'll take them down from cover. Too many and I'll split off to distract and provide fire support. Comm check?" Hearing the three clicks, he nodded and performed his own before Team Dextro headed off towards Site Alpha, not a kilometer away.

* * *

Author's Notes: So, we finally get another glimpse of just what Harry's got up his sleeve. I'd ask you to take it with a small grain of salt, actually. For reasons related to the plot, the battles will be similar in nature during the ME1 arc, when the rest of the galaxy hasn't gotten used to fighting him. Not to oversimplify it, but basically think of it this way. ME1 is on veteran difficulty, ME2 is on hardcore, and ME3 will be on insanity. I've got a couple ideas that are going to make the ME2 enemies, and most especially the ME3 enemies complete and utter nightmares for our squad.

Next time will show us Liara (Finally! For some of you), and a couple changes to the basic Therum mission. You already saw a few in this chapter, larger compound, lots more geth, switching the tunnel orders, etc. Hope you enjoyed it and will continue to do so. One more difference in the whole story, the Kodiak. I know the ME2 ones didn't seem to be armed, but I'm basing it more on the ME3 shuttles. None of the stealth systems, obviously, but as a military shuttle it _would_ have the forward guns and fold-out turret as on the ME3 ones.

Harry's Spellbook!

_Mōko Kaimon Ha_ [Fierce Tiger Gate-Open Blast]: A Japanese spell meant for use against doorways, this spell tears through the offending gateway, sending it flying back ruined. Causes predictably…messy results when used on an organic being. However, while it can be cast nonverbally, the spell requires the caster to bring both arms together (facing the target) and then forcibly split them apart, as though tearing an object in half. **((**This spell is a magically reworked version of the attack by the same name from the Ranma ½ manga. One of the initial moves of the Yama Sen Ken, it's used in both martial arts and robbery, par for the course given its creator, Genma Saotome. Take note, I removed the thrusting kick from the attack, as this magical gate-breaker wouldn't require physical contact.**))**

_Argent Tuitio_ [Silver Protection]: An anti-material spell first conceived by the Romans against archers, and later refined by modernizing wizards against firearms. The shield takes the form of a transparent cloud of mist that revolves around the caster, faintly glowing silver. It functions as a constant momentum-arresting spell, slowing and stopping any physical object that passes through its field. While this is quite effective against physical projectiles such as arrows and bullets, it will simply slow down melee attacks, as the opponent can continue to press through when a projectile doesn't have any further force being added to it. Constantly maintaining the shield slowly drains the caster's reserves, however, so it is not often used for long periods of time. Like most of his shields, while Harry must cast it using his wand, he has mastered the art of wandlessly maintaining it with his off hand. It will also stop his own pistol's rounds, and hamper any combat with his sword.

_Manille Rubis_ [Ruby Shackles]: Used both to restrain and injure a victim, this French spell conjures a pair of red-hot shackles around their legs, binding them together and burning them at the same time. While there is no further magical reinforcement preventing a victim from removing the bindings, the fact that they are burning metal acts as a secondary deterrent. The spell must be cast from a very short range of less than five meters, however, and as such in combat it performs better as a defensive spell against enemies attacking the caster at close range.


	7. Chapter 7: Therum: Part 3

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Mass Effect nor their affiliated bits and pieces are my property. The lucky people who do own them are J.K. Rowling and both Bioware and EA, respectively. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.

Author's Notes: Okay, so like many authors on this site before me, I am going to make a simple request. If you plan on leaving a review, please sign in. Membership's free, and if you have consistent enough access to read and review, it's not a big leap to make an account. I don't mind getting bad reviews, but I do like to be able to respond to them and maybe even start a discussion. Getting unsigned reviews (bad _and _good) just saps my momentum and will to write. And I really don't want to begin moderating reviews; I'll take whatever you all want to say, I'd just like being able to actually answer all of you.

* * *

The Green Eyed Spectre

Chapter 7: Therum: Part 3

* * *

The squad advanced up the hill, Harry leading both Garrus and Tali, as Nihlus had cloaked himself and gone ahead to scout positions. There was a small clearing up ahead dotted with rocks, and with Nihlus' instructions, the three made short work of the four geth units advancing on the site. Soon enough, they came to a bend in the path, flanked by hills, and Harry paused, waiting for Nihlus to return.

In moments, the turian was back and he relayed his report, "Okay there's a crater ahead and the path continues upwards, but they've got a pair of watchtowers guarding it, snipers in each. Troopers on the ground, along with a prime, but no armatures."

"Alright, Nihlus, Garrus, get up on that ridge and provide support. Take out those snipers first. Tali and I will hit them on the ground and draw their attention." The two turians ambled off up the craggy slope and Harry addressed the quarian beside them, "Overload their shields and watch for flankers. I'll focus on offense, I need you to watch our backs, okay?"

"Got it, Commander."

Soon, Harry's comm lit up and Nihlus' voice came over, "We're in position."

The two of them headed down the hill, taking cover behind the rocks as they rounded the bend. Harry leaned out and took a quick glance. There were four of them on the ground, including the prime, and probably more up on the path ahead. Tapping Tali's arm, he whispered, "Ready?" Silently, he cast a _Cadens Fulgures, _causing the clouds above them to crackle, and at her nod, Harry leapt away from the rock wall towards more cover, casting, "_Cadens Fulgures!_" The sky, already charged up, lanced out with furious ropes of lightning, bombarding the geth prime in the depression.

The geth immediately scattered, and trusting Tali to stick close, Harry began advancing on the geth even as he heard the sharp cracks of Garrus' and Nihlus' sniper rifles and saw one geth fall from the tower. Looking out over the rocks he'd taken cover behind, Harry quickly cast a _Bombarda_ and a pair of _Zagens_. The blasting curse missed, hitting the rocks one geth hid behind, but the pair of saws found their mark, trisecting one trooper toting a rocket launcher.

Moving forward, the pair quickly made work of the two remaining on the ground, the farthest falling to a carefully aimed _Ictus_ and the nearest to a blast from Tali's shotgun as it attempted to flank them. Still more came from the path up the hill and Harry could hear the turians' sniper rifles hard at work. Passing the depression, Harry and Tali began working their way up the hill, one close geth falling to another _Bombarda_ as it advanced, the blasting curse hitting its chest and exploding, tearing the trooper in half. In the momentary lull that followed, Harry toggled his comm, "Nihlus, move up to join, we'll cover."

Another pair of trooper rose up above the lip of the path and Harry tossed a _Glacialum Sperae_ upwards, the spinning orb hitting the nearest one even as the frozen blasts it emitted nailed and flash froze half of the second trooper. A quick blast from Tali's shotgun pierced the frozen side and shattered it, sending the geth backwards and out of the fight. Soon enough, Garrus and Nihlus joined them and the four advanced upwards. Rounding the bend once more, they were prepared for more resistance, but pressed on when they realized the geth in the immediate vicinity were all dead, or as dead as synthetics could get.

Soon enough, they mounted the hill that lead to Site Alpha, an old mining rig, converted into a Prothean dig site. There were several structures to their left and a prefabricated entrance to the tunnel on their right. With their guns and in Harry's case, wand on a swivel, the team advanced towards the entrance, expecting the geth to be nearby.

Suddenly, there was a strange, clomping sound, and they paused behind a pair of scattered crates, seeking the source. Garrus was the first to spot it calling out, "Above! It's attached to the wall!" They turned and Harry quickly caught sight of the strange geth unit. It was flexible, bending this way and that as it moved about the walls. Two more soon revealed themselves from crevices in the mining structure and the squad opened fire. Tali's Overload dropped one from it perch where Nihlus peppered it with a spray from his assault rifle, Garrus nailed the second with a pair of shots from his Viper, and Harry was quick to toss a _Tonare_ at the last. The small bolt of lightning crackled as though thunder, tearing it from its position hanging on the catwalks and fried it.

Pausing, they waited for any more to show, but instead of the smaller crawling units, the squad just heard the loud hum of an incoming ship, and They scrambled over to the mining tanks to take cover.

The geth dropship soared far overhead, and without even landing it dropped a number of troopers, curled up into balls before disgorging a single armature and flying away. The geth immediately unfolded themselves even as the armature landed with a resounding crash, kicking up a cloud of dust and unfolding itself, beginning to advance. Harry just turned to the structure and brought his wand forth, beginning to trace an inscription on it and calling out, "Focus on the troopers, I'm going to keep that walker pinned!" Moments later, the runic array was complete and Harry slapped his left hand onto it, channeling his magic and calling out, "_Perfora ac liga!_" A dozen spears of light materialized above the armature before each thrust down, piercing it and holding it still.

Brandishing his wand, Harry quickly cast an _Urto_ at one geth attempting to flank them, sending it careening back across the clearing and into the hillside where it shattered, "Walker is immobile, hit it with all you got!" Tali dropped an Overload on it and both Garrus and Nihlus threw grenades, the small discs attaching themselves before detonating, weakening its armor. The armature, unable to move its 'head,' still attempted to return fire, and the ball of plasma soared past the team, demolishing one of the crates nearby.

Garrus threw another grenade and both Tali and Nihlus unloaded with their shotgun and assault rifle respectively. Its shields gone and armor failing, the armature tried firing once more, and though it kicked up some shrapnel from the impact point, the shot was otherwise ineffective. Harry looked around the corner of his cover and added a pair of _Bombardas_ to the attack, the spells sailing in and detonating on the walker's two front legs. Finally, Garrus planted a pair of rounds from his Viper into its head, destroying it, and the machine's lights dimmed before its core overloaded, exploding outwards.

With no further geth opposing them, Team Dextro walked up the ramp to the entrance to Site Alpha, and began walking down the long circular tunnel. Here Harry led the way, as he could bring up a shield to cover the entire tunnel if they were ambushed, but no trap occurred.

However, as they drew closer to the bottom, they began to hear the high-pitched clicking and sounds they'd begun to associate with the geth, and the team pressed against one wall, hoping to sneak closer and see what they were up against.

The tube finally ended, and beyond it Harry could see the top station to the old mine, a series of platforms and walkways, along with four geth troopers standing guard over an elevator further in. The downside was that there was little cover near the tunnel, and as soon as they left it, they were likely to be spotted by the troopers. Halting and gesturing to the squad, Harry explained the situation and told Nihlus and Garrus to ready their sniper rifles. Garrus had his Viper out already, and Nihlus quickly folded his assault rifle and brought out his own, a turian marksman's rifle whose name Harry couldn't even begin to pronounce. Harry began to creep downwards, even as both turians spread out in the tunnel and lay on the ground, barely giving them the angle they would need to hit their targets.

Once he was close enough, Harry nodded to the two and took aim before silently casting an _Ictus_, the piercing curse destroying the core of one of the troopers. Immediately after, he heard the _crack_ of both rifles firing, and saw the outermost geth troopers suddenly fly back, sparks erupting from the chest of the first, and the head of the second. Harry was about to cast another _Ictus_ at the last geth when it suddenly leapt up and backwards, falling over the railing and into the darkness below.

Well that was odd.

Still, he ordered the squad forward, and they made their way onto the platform, moving quickly towards the elevator. Halfway there, Garrus paused to take in a sign on the wall, a map of the mine, and in the midst of it, a whole horde of drones suddenly flew up from below, rising towards the ceiling and beginning to fire.

Nihlus and Tali leapt into cover behind the railings, Garrus spun and looked ready to do the same when Harry dragged him down by his armor's cowl, both of their shields flickering as the first wave of fire was deflected. The pair scuttled over to the others, Nihlus already returning fire, and Tali with her shotgun out, tapping away on her omni-tool. When they were firmly entrenched, Harry spoke up over the sounds of firing, "Nihlus, command! I'm going to divide their attention!" He could hear the turian Spectre begin to speak, but Harry was already twisting in place.

Popping over to one of the small alcoves in the rock wall itself, Harry was about to ready his wand when his shield appeared in front of him before dissipating into motes of light and the emitter at the back of his waist began shaking and sparking. Bollocks. Ignoring the small stab of pain from the shocks, Harry tore it from his belt and tossed it away. Immediately, he cast an _Argent Tuitio_ and transferred control of it to his left hand before looking out over the platforms.

There were eight of the drones flying about, seemingly randomly, and Team Dextro was pinned down behind boxes and railings, firing back when they could. Quietly, he tapped his comm, "Be ready to Overload the drones on your left."

Leaping out from cover, Harry rolled and came up behind the railing, peering over it at the drones. Bringing his wand aloft, he sharply thrust it forward at the two closest to him, casting an _Urto_ with a fair amount of magic behind it. The wave of force flew forward, catching two of them and sending them careening into the rock wall, crushing them there. The _Urto_ left an impression in the rock face with a crack that sent dust flying, before the two ruined drones were released from the spell and fell into the chasm in pieces.

Two more drones had been caught in the edges and were sent flying. The left one immediately corrected its flight, but the right one spontaneously became a purple hummingbird. Huh, that was a new one. It curiously flitted about for a moment before flying away from the loud noises as fast as it could.

Immediately, Harry brought his wand to bear on the drone righting itself, casting a quick _Bombarda_ that tore into the geth before exploding violently. Looking out, Harry saw the last two drones quickl downed by the team's fire, and he left cover to reunite with them. Coming together, he spoke up, "Status?"

Nihlus was quick to report, "Vakarian took a grazing shot, but otherwise we're good. You?"

"Shield's dead, but good here." Their journey was halted as suddenly a massive noise sounded off from below, as though the sharp report of a rifle. Immediately, the ground shook faintly and several rocks crumbled from the walls. Soon enough, the sound ceased but the shaking continued unabated for a few moments before halting as well. The squad just looked at each other and Harry continued, "Well, we know they're here already. Let's get down to that dig site."

The foursome jogged over to and piled into the elevator as Tali toggled the controls, sending them crawling downwards. The map on the wall indicated that the dig site was a good two kilometers down below at the base of the chasm. The squad spent a few moments tinkering with their weapons, and Harry stood near the side, looking out at the prothean structure that sunk deeper and deeper into the void. Its lights and field were all on and active, something they hadn't expected.

A few minutes later, Garrus stepped up aside to join him, and the two just gazed downwards.

"It's impressive, to think that the structure survived being buried in solid rock."

Suddenly, something happening to the prothean structure grabbed Harry's attention, "Wait a moment, Garrus…is that thing moving?" Pointing downwards, the wizard beckoned the detective to look.

Putting his sniper rifle up to his eye, Garrus peered downward, "No, I've go-wait. Yes, there's something…" Bringing one clawed hand up, he adjusted his scope and kept looking, "Spirits! Tali, stop the elevator!" The quarian leapt over and slammed the brakes, sending them shuddering to a halt, and the detective continued, "It looks like this isn't the only lift. I've got hostiles, geth and a krogan, and they're with the doctor. She's restrained, probably not an ally then. They're heading up."

Harry just turned, "Tali, get us moving, back up to the top, we'll ambush them up the-hang on, does it seem warm to you all?"

The squad exchanged glances, and Nihlus spoke up, "It does feel a bit more like Palaven, now that you mention it…"

Harry strode to the side and knelt, peering as far down as he could. Far away, its light masked by the prothean structure, was what he feared. Standing, he addressed the others, "Okay, the good news is I learned something new about the protheans. The bad news is that apparently they liked to build their structures in ancient volcanoes. And whatever caused that shaking earlier definitely popped the hatch. We've got magma."

The squad looked at each other once more before Nihlus just let out a turian sigh and muttered, "I'm getting too old for this shit."

Tali, ever willing to offer help just stated the obvious, "Doesn't magma usually eat through metal? Like the metal that this elevator is supported by?"

Harry just nodded happily, "Excellent deduction! Tali, stop the elevator."

What, again? Why?" Though quick to act, her tone had taken a resigned edge.

"Damned lifts are too slow. Everyone back away to the corners." With that, Harry strode to the middle of the platform and looked up, brandishing his wand. One flick vanished the roof of the elevator, revealing the dark heights above them. A swish and flick followed, casting a levitation charm on the platform to neutralize gravity's hold, and a twirling thrust magically stuck his booted feet to the lift itself. Smiling at the others, he called out, "Brace yourselves!" Pointing his wand straight up, Harry incanted, "_Accio_!"

With the elevator attached and weightless, the summoning charm did its best to summon the roof of the cavern to him and the lift lurched, ascending, sending sparks to the side as it screamed upwards. The basic levitation would have done the same job, but nothing beat an overpowered summoner for speed.

It was a much shorter trip this time, and barely a minute had passed before Garrus called out, "Just passed the prothean lift!"

The lift kept rising, bringing them closer to the upper level, and the squad held on tightly to whatever they could as it rocked, its mechanism screeching in protest. Soon enough, they could see the roof of the cavern and Harry ceased summoning, focusing instead on the levitation charm and slowing their ascent down as they approached the platforms. With one final jolt the elevator reached the top and Harry stopped them, calling out, "First floor: rocks, ruins, ambushes, and scattered robot remnants. Everybody off."

The squad took cover behind several nearby crates, waiting for the prothean lift to arrive. Harry took a moment to gaze down the shaft, trying to judge how fast the magma was rising. Fortunately, it seemed as though it was a slow ascent, as he could barely discern the molten pool below. Pulling back, he got into cover and moments later, they could see the platform rise up and the blue barrier dissipate. The krogan in command led the way, followed by several geth troopers and the doctor, bound. As the geth and the krogan approached, Harry called out, "Surrender! Or don't, that would be more fun!"

The krogan just roared and waved his companions forward, "We don't have time to deal with this idiot! Charge!"

The geth scattered and the krogan leapt into cover even as they all erupted in a fusillade of fire. Quickly, Harry noted the sole geth unit minding the doctor drag her into cover behind the crates scattered about.

Harry quickly tossed pair of nonverbal _Icti_ at the geth still out of cover, piercing and destroying them. A quick _Bombarda_ was tossed at a crate two were hiding behind before the krogan battlemaster became the sole focus of his attention. Readying a shackling spell, Harry tossed out a wandless banisher with his left hand, hoping to buy some time.

It did little, however, as the krogan charged him, ignoring the weak banisher. As he neared, Harry reached up behind himself and flicked his wand upwards before bringing it down with a whisper, "_Manille Rubis_." The ornate, cherry-red fetters materialized around the krogan's legs, snapping shut and tripping him. The bloodstained battlemaster rolled forward over his hump, keeping his focus and coming up to his knees with his shotgun raised. Unfortunately for him, he rose up just as Harry twisted his wand, casting an altered summoning charm.

His thrown sword, lazily arcing through the air, suddenly turned about and shot toward the krogan. The blade skewered him through one of his hearts and knocked him on his back to the floor, pinning him there as though a specimen. Still he fired his shotgun towards Harry even as he was thrust backwards, but the wizard was already turning in place, apparating to the ceiling above the krogan.

As the krogan shouted in frustration and pain, Harry's silent _Bombarda_ caught his open mouth and promptly detonated inside his skull. It was a muffled thump, and the krogan sagged back, his eyes pointed unnaturally away, a chunky viscera leaking from his permanently opened maw. Another rumble shook the room, and Harry immediately apparated away from the ceiling to the clearly dead battlemaster, and spent a moment trying to withdraw his blade.

The cavern was beginning to collapse as chunks of rock shuddered and fell from the walls and ceiling. One final crack echoed out as Garrus' Viper claimed the sole remaining geth, the one minding the doctor. As the squad kept their weapons on a swivel, Harry rose and approached her, kneeling down before the curled up asari, "Relax, doctor. I'm Commander Shepard. We're not here to hurt you, from what I can tell. I'm guessing you and the geth aren't the best of friends."

Dr. T'Soni looked at him incredulously, "Friends!? A day ago I didn't even know the geth had left the Veil! Why are they even after me in the first place?" Another stalactite crashed down nearby, prompting a cry, and Harry disengaged the cuffs binding her arms together.

"Not the time and place for answers, let's get out of here. Nihlus, let's go!" Team Dextro rose up and began racing up the ramps, even as Harry toggled his comm, "Joker! We've got the doctor, need extraction, this place is going up in flames!"

"Roger Commander, ETA six minutes!"

They rushed upwards even as more rocks fell around them, quickly reaching the tunnel upwards that led outside. Fortunately, the passage held for the moment and it was a clear run up. Tali was the first to breach the tunnel but she paused on the threshold even as the rest of the squad reached her and passed her out into the sweltering air.

Suddenly, a torrent of gunfire greeted them, their shields flashing, and Harry reflexively threw up a physical shield in front of the squad, "Everybody back into the volcano!"

They pulled back over the edge and Harry turned to the young quarian, "What did you see?"

"The geth dropship is apparently back."

Harry just grinned, "Lovely. Joker?" However, only static greeted his hail and he tried once more, "Joker, do you copy?" Nothing. "Dammit, a galleon says they're jamming us. Alright, back away for a moment, I'll see what I can do."

Slowly, Harry inched his way up the tunnel on his belly 'til he got to the edge. Tali was right, the geth dropship was hovering right outside, several ground units already deployed. Well, time to break out th- wait a moment. Eyes trained to spot small and shiny objects quickly picked out the silvery fleck in the distance, rapidly approaching, and Harry smiled, "Keep to cover, cavalry's here!"

The Normandy, already in atmosphere, screamed in on an attack run. Even as the geth ship began rising the frigate soared overhead, firing the mass accelerator mounted on its spine. The round shot forth, crashing into the dropship's kinetic barriers and cutting through the ship itself before impacting the mountain behind the dig site. Immediately, the geth ship erupted in a gouts of flame and arcs of electricity, hovering for a moment before losing altitude and drifting towards the river of lava nearby. Immediately, Harry held his wand aloft and with a wave, reinforced the tunnel surrounding them before the ship's drive core went critical and exploded.

Immediately, Harry's comm lit up, "-pard, do you read?"

"Here, Wrex. Got the doctor and a bunch of geth, need extraction, where are you?"

"En route. Be on site in four minutes."

"Make it two. This volcano is going up. We'll give the geth something to fire at, come in and hit them from behind."

"Just like a nathak. We'll be there."

Harry turned to the rest of his team, "Got that? We're going to get their attention. It's a strange day when the exploding volcano is your cover, but hell, why not?"

Tali and Garrus joined him at the edge, the young quarian already fiddling with her omni-tool, sending an Overload down into the ranks, "Because it's an exploding volcano, that's why!"

Peering down at the geth troopers, Harry quickly cast an overpowered _Choque Bomba_ that arced out before landing and shredding a crate and the two troopers behind it, "Rhetorical question, Tali!"

Garrus' Viper cracked twice, sending a pair of troopers to robot heaven, and he joined in the verbal fray, "_Definitely_ better than C-Sec!"

"And not one krogan testicle in sight!"

Nihlus joined them at the edge, his sniper rifle already firing, "What's this about krogan testicles?"

Harry just twisted his wand, sending a _Sanctas Aurum Fulmen_ at one of the rocket troopers, lifting it and sending it careening back towards the mining rig where it stuck to the metal framework, "Oh, nothing. Garrus has just been bragging about his _equipment_. Apparently it's a favorable comparison."

Garrus' Viper sounded out once more even as the turian himself turned in shock towards Harry, "That's not true! I was just telling him about my time in C-Sec tracking down a crazy salarian doctor cloning organs! And there weren't any krogan testicles!"

Tali kept shuffling through her list of combat programs, absently sending out a drone, "So you don't compare favorably and you tried to find some krogan replacements?"

"No, that's not- Wrex! Where the hell are you?!"

Suddenly they could hear the whine of the Kodiak's engine approaching and the squad poured on the fire, "Right here, boy. And stay the hell away from my quad!" The shuttle swung to the side even as the door opened up and the turret slid into place, Ashley already starting to gun down the hapless geth. With that, the team charged out of the volcano and down the ramp as the shuttle came in to hover near the ground.

The five leapt on board and Harry shouted toward the cockpit, "We're on! Go go go!"

* * *

"So, I get to paint a geth ship on the hull right? Sign of my kill and all? No? How about a volcano, then. You know we're not exactly meant to land in the exploding ones, ten more seconds and we would have been swimming in molten sulfur. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for…future reference."

The doctor, Liara, was incredulous, "I don't understand. We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?"

Pacing in the briefing room with his arms crossed, Harry caught her gaze and gave her a smile, "Key word there is almost. We all got out with only minor injuries, and he's the one that pulled us out. The jokes are just a coping mechanism, you'll get used to it."

"I see, it must be a human thing. I am not very experienced in dealing with your species Commander. And nothing in the studies I read indicated that you possessed such strange biotic talents. But I am grateful to you, you saved my life back there."

"Right, knew that would come up. Still, I think we need to have a conversation before those answers come out. Now, you've got nothing to do with the geth, that much I'm quite willing to believe, but what about your mother?"

The doctor was taken aback, and her face mirrored her confusion, "Benezia? She and I have not spoken in years, what does she have to do with anything?"

"Well, it was worth a shot. Apologies, doctor, but Nihlus? Anything in those files confirm that?"

The turian crossed his arms, "It fits with what we know already. Didn't expect that she would lead us to the matriarch, but it was the best lead we had at the time."

"Then, doctor, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Benezia is currently working with a rogue Spectre by the name of Saren, who has allied with the geth. This team was put together to track them down and stop whatever they are planning."

"But…when did…how could she?"

"I know it's not easy, but the matter that arises now is what to do with you. I can see two options. In the first, we take you to the Citadel, where you will be placed under protective custody until such time as the threat has been dealt with, as we've already seen they want to capture you. Alternately, you remain aboard the Normandy here, again, for the duration of this mission at least."

"I…I would like to stay, if that is alright. I would like to know what has become of her."

Here, Wrex interjected in a gravelly voice, "Not to mention her biotics could be useful in a fight."

Harry brought one hand up and scratched his chin, "Possibly useful…doctor, do you have any combat training or experience?"

"I was trained, yes…Benezia…insisted that I receive combat training before I could journey on my own."

Kaidan just held his hand aloft, "Hold up, we're just going to shanghai her into the team hunting her own mother? No offense, doctor."

She held up her own hand, faintly shaking her head, "I take none. There is little love lost between Benezia and I, though I would like to see her detained peacefully if possible. I cannot imagine what is going on in her mind. She was always for reform, but never a militant one."

"Well then, either she's changed her mind or it's been changed for her. Alright, Liara, can I call you that?" The doctor nodded and Harry continued, "The simple answer, most humans can't, because those weren't biotics. According to the official story, those were 'advanced biotics.' According to reality, that was magic, as I'm a wizard."

Her disbelieving expression was enough, "Please, Commander, I'm a scientist and over a century old, no matter how young that may seem. I am a little too old for bedtime stories."

"Young'un or not, it's the truth. Welcome to the larger world, Dulce'. Or larger universe, I suppose."

"Dulce?"

"Dulcinea?" Harry glanced around, seeing the rest of the quad was just as confused, "None of you read the classics, do you? Fine. Make me feel old, why don't you?"

Ashley was the first to smile, "Well, you _are_ older than dirt, sir."

"Watch it, whippersnapper. I was running and well, not exactly gunning when your great-great-great-grandfather was whining in his nappies. And how old are you exactly, Liara?"

"I…am ashamed to admit that I am only one hundred and six years old, Commander."

Ashley was quick to pounce, leaning forwards, "Damn! I hope I look that good when I'm that age."

"A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours, but among the asari I am barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to…dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans."

"Yeah, the first hundred is always the worst. But on the bright side, now you can use lines like mine!"

"I beg your pardon? Actually, how exactly are you as old as her great-great-great grandfather, anyway? I thought humans didn't…I mean, well, I didn't think humans lived that long, to be honest."

While a neat tangent, Harry supposed they should probably get back on track, "They usually don't, I'm just special like that. Mastered death and everything! So, the Prothean extinction: what can you tell us about it? And the Conduit, anything about that?"

"There's not much to tell, actually. There aren't a lot of ruins left. The only thing I can tell you is that the Conduit is linked to the extinction."

"Well, I've got my own theory as to just how they disappeared."

"With all due respect, Commander, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them. The Protheans left remarkably little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. As though someone came along after they were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part: according to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them."

"Where did you get this theory, if there was so little evidence?"

Liara's countenance darkened for a moment, not out of anger, but shame or guilt, "I have been working on this for fifty years. I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence. Eventually, subtle patterns start to emerge. Patterns that hint at the truth. It is…difficult to explain to someone else. I cannot point to one specific thing to prove my case. It is…more of a feeling derived from a half century of research. But I know that I am right, and eventually, I will be able to prove it. There were other civilizations before the Protheans. This cycle has repeated itself many times over."

Here Nihlus joined the discussion, asking, "If the Protheans weren't the first, do you have any idea who was?"

She shrugged, offering an open palm outwards, "I don't know. There is barely any evidence on the Protheans, and even less on those who came before them. I know I cannot prove it, but I can't help but feel as though I am right. The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The Protheans rose up from a single world until their empire span the entire galaxy, yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before. Their greatest achievements, the Mass Relays and the Citadel, are based on the technology of those who preceded them. And then, like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the Protheans disappeared."

"Not just disappeared, like you said. They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines, the Reapers."

Liara's gaze immediately found Harry's and she began speaking rapidly, a jumble of questions, "The…the Reapers? But I have never heard of…how do you know this? What evidence do you have?"

"A Prothean beacon on Eden Prime contained some sort of vision about their downfall. It was damaged, but that much was clear enough."

"Extraordinary! The beacons were never meant for…you must be remarkably strong willed to have seen as much as you did and come out intact, Commander. I am surprised you were able to make any sense of it at all!"

"I'm just fairly well versed in the realms of visions and thing poking at my mind."

"Still, the vision would have been disjointed, incomplete. Commander, with you permission I would make an offer: I could join my conciousness to yours and perhaps offer some more insight as to this vision. Perhaps help you put the pieces of the puzzle together. My expertise on the Protheans might shed some clarity on the matter."

"It's a nice offer, but my head's not exactly something I want people digging around in. Had enough of that already to last a lifetime. Not really a nice place anymore. Still, that does give me an idea. You lot want to see some more magic?"

At their nods, Harry removed and unshrunk his trunk once more. Opening it up, he reached inside and pulled out the intricately carved stone bowl, "May not look like much, but this is a pensieve. My old headmaster's to be precise. Rare things, they let the users experience memories. And while only wizards can activate them, I know for a fact that I can bring others with me to see them." Gingerly, Harry closed the trunk and set it on top, "Now, you'll all need to be in physical contact with me to use it. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt or anything, but I'm the one using it, you're all just coming along for the ride."

Sitting down in the middle of the room, Harry waited until the whole squad had moved closer and sat themselves around him. Harry then brought out his wand and placed it at his temple. A bit of focused occulemency separated the memory of receiving the vision, and he pulled it out, the silvery threads dangling from the tip of his wand. Gently, he lowered it to the bowl and let it swirl inside.

While the squad seemed ready and curious, however, Tali was nervous, "You said you need physical contact? I don't think I can do that."

Right, the environmental suit. A thought struck him then, and Harry spoke up, "Can you seal off your suit? Say, just remove your glove or something? I can create a sterile environment around it." She was nervous, but curious enough that she nodded, and Harry raised his wand. Tali held out her hands and Harry waved his hand above them. A small glowing bubble appeared around them, a derivation of the bubblehead charm. A few more waves cast a series of scourgifies on the air inside and on the skin of his hand. Nothing in the room sparked or exploded, and Harry released a tiny sigh of relief, "Okay, that bubble is purely clean air, go ahead and scan it if you want."

"It's…the readings are bit fuzzy, but everything is coming back clean! That's amazing! How did you do that? The implications for the fleet would be amazing if we were able to create these bubbles. How large can you make them? How long do they last? Could you seal a room? What abou-"

"Relax, Tali. Deep breaths. No, they're not very useful outside specific situations, this just happens to be one of them, we can talk later. Now, all you need is a finger of contact, so get comfy for a moment." It took a little maneuvering as Tali had claimed his left hand, but soon enough the whole squad was seated around him. It was all very story-time-like. "Alright, I'm going to activate it. You'll feel like you're falling, don't worry, that's normal. You're not actually falling, just following my consciousness into the pensieve."

With that, Harry dipped his head into the pensieve, and the squad fell alongside him into the memory.

Shadows fell as though a liquid poured into place, reforming into the spaceport on Eden Prime. The squad fell with them, landing on the ground behind the memory's version of Harry and Nihlus. Quietly, the wizard spoke up, "Okay, this was just before the beacon activated. Once it does, the vision will replace our surroundings." They watched silently as Nihlus drew closer to be beacon before it began to pulse, and then Harry was leaping at him, pulling him aside before being caught himself.

Suddenly, his body was upright, dangling in the air, and they could hear the memory Kaiden shouting, "No! Don't touch him, it's too dangerous!" Immediately their surroundings disappeared, replaced by a sea of red. An ocean of images, sounds and smells.

A vision of horror.

A vision of death.

A vision of destruction.

Metal. Organs. Harvest. Flee! Fight! Survive!

No escape! Escape!

The empire, fallen.

The cycle.

Reaper.

Reaper!

_Reaper!_

The vision ended abruptly as the beacon erupted, casting memory Harry back and unconscious. As he fell, the memory began fading, and Harry disengaged the pensieve, causing the squad to fly up and out.

Suddenly, they were back on the Normandy, sitting in a circle around the wizard, and each pulled back reflexively.

Nihlus was the first to regain his wits, speaking, "Spirits! What…what the hell was that?"

Harry just frowned, "That's what I'd like to know. That was the vision I saw, but it was…fragmented. Death, destruction. Warning. And Reapers. Anyone else catch something else?"

Liara was the next to speak, "I saw something at the end. Something in shadows, coming at me. It looked like…like a hanar? But bigger?"

"I think that was a Reaper, whatever that means."

Garrus joined in, "So…the Protheans uplift the hanar…and then the jellyfish destroy their civilization?"

"No, it wasn't a hanar. Hanar aren't metal."

Kaidan had been quiet but spoke up now, "Eden Prime. The geth ship with that weird signal. Maybe it's not geth, but Prothean? Could Saren have found a derelict Prothean vessel?"

Liara composed herself, sitting in her chair once more, "It's possible, we know so little about their culture. Maybe it had records on these Reapers, and that's what led Saren to seek the Conduit?"

Harry just packed the pensieve and trunk away, "Well, we're not going to learn anything more by guessing. And nothing I saw is going to help us find him. I suppose we're back to square one. Alright, everyone's dismissed. Get some rack time. Liara, talk to Pressly, he'll get you situated."

As the rest of the squad save Nihlus left the room, Joker's voice came back over the comm, "Reports are away, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?"

"Patch them through, Joker. About time we got this conversation over with."

* * *

The man sat in his chair, waiting for a very important call to come over the terminal in front of him. Suddenly, the indicator lit up and he tapped it, bringing up a screen with a zig zagging line across it. The voice that followed was scrambled, as was typical, "The game is afoot. Keep it all under wraps and begin readying Patroclus."

"And the geth?"

"An unexpected development, but not a debilitating one. We can use them and this hunt for Saren as a premiere."

Well then, almost time to play, "Of course, _sir_."

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry about the long wait. As I've told a few curious readers, college and real life drama intervened, and college continues to intervene. I'm writing one story or another whenever I get the time, but I've got to be focusing on my studies. Still, hope you enjoyed the new chapter, and thanks for sticking around.

Harry's Spellbook!

_Rituale de Immobilem Spicam_, incantation: _Perfora ac liga! _[Ritual of the Immovable Spears, incantation: Pierce and Bind!]: An active and offensive ward of Roman origin used to defend fortifications, functioning as a magical portcullis of sorts. Upon (creating, if it is not already present, and) activating the runic glyph, this spell calls twelve spears of light to appear above the target before each thrusts downward, immobilizing but not harming the victim. While powerful, it will only remain in effect as long as the caster maintains contact with the glyph and is a constant drain on the caster's reserves. As soon as that contact is broken, the glyph and spears will fade away.

_Choque Bomba_, [Shock Bomb]: A Spanish demolition spell, this destructive spell impacts and explodes, sending shockwaves out in all directions. While they dissipate quickly, the shockwaves damage or disintegrate everything within a few meters of the point of impact, depending on the durability of the objects in range. It was adapted for use in battle during the War against Grindlewald. The original spell fires in a straight line and explodes upon hitting a solid target. The revised version takes more magic to cast but flies in an arcing path, acting as a magical mortar.


End file.
